Staphylococci I and II Flashcards
What is the most common cause of nosocomial bacteremia?
S.aureus
What is the resistance determinant of vancomycin resistant staph aureus?
vanA
What are the three important staphylococcal species that we need to know? What does each infect?
- S. Aureus: community and hospital acquired infections
- S. epidermidis: intravascular catheter and foreign bodies
- S. Saprophyticus: urinary tract infections
What is the morphology of staphylococcus?
Gram + cocci in clusters
Is S. aureus motile?
No
Is S. aureus anaerobic or aerobic?
facultative
What happens if you plate S. Aureus on a blood agar plate?
Clearing of red cells around colonies, indicating hemolysis
Does S. aureus have catalase?
Yes. Because it is facultative aerobe.
If a species of staph is coagulase positive, what kind is it?
Staph aureus
If a species of staph is positive for nitrate reductase, what kind is it?
Either Staphylococcus aureus or epidermidis
If a strain of staphylococcus is DNAse positive, what kind is it?
Staphylococcus aureus. To do this, you would plate the bacteria on agar with methyl green (+) and DNA (-). Disintegration of the DNA will also show a clearing of the dye
How would you distinguish S aureus from group A strep?
S aureus would bubble under hydrogen peroxide because it has catalase. Group A strep would not.
How do you perform a coagulase test?
Add bacteria to rabbit plasma
What would indicate a positive nitrate reductase test?
Strip turns red
What color are S. epidermidis and S saprophyticus colonies?
White
What are two ways in which you could distinguish S epidermidis and S saprophyticus, after ruling out s. aureus?
S. epidermidis would be positive for the nitrate reduction test (would need to rule out S. aureus first). In contrast, S. saprophyticus is the only species that is positive for resistance to novobiocin.
How would you differentiate S aureus from S. epidermidis and S saprophyticus?
coagulase or DNAse test
How would you differentiate staphylococcus strains from streptococcus and enterococcus strains?
coagulase
How would you track an outbreak of S aureus?
pulse field electrophoresis
MLST
Also, phage typing, molecular typing, clonal complex typing
Staphylococcus aureus is a toxin mediated disease. What toxins does it release?
enterotoxins
toxic shock syndrome toxin
exfoliatins A and B “exfoliation syndrome”
Once the bug has adhered, s. aureus creates toxins to cause tissue damage:
- hyaluronidase
- staphylokinase
- P-V leukocidin
Note that even if you kill the bacteria, the toxins are heat stable
What factors does Staph aureus have to evade host defenses?
- complement inhibitors
- surface protein A
- capsule
What are the characteristics of the S. aureus cell wall that have allowed it to adhere to host cells?
Has fibronectin, fibrinogen, collagen, and platelet binding protein. These all help with adherence to the cellular matrix
What characteristics of the S. aureus cell wall have allowed it to evade host defenses?
teichoic acid makes surface less negatively charged. Protein A interferes with binding of IgG
What is the most common cause of food-borne diarrhea?
s. aureus contamination. Release of enterotoxins that are heat stable. However, diarrhea is usually self-limiting and nonbloody with an absence of white blood cells