STDs Flashcards
(29 cards)
what is the most common bacterial STD in the U.S.?
chlamydia (note: HPV is more common than chlamydia, but it is a virus)
name 3 virulence factors of gonococcus (N. gonorrheae)
- pili
- outer membrane protein porins
- Opa proteins
how do pili help gonococcus successfully infect hosts?
- they have hypervariable amino acid sequences that allow them to evade immune recognition
- they help gonococcus adhere to host cell membranes
- they hold the bacteria so close to host cells that macrophages and neutrophils miss them
what do outer membrane protein porins (PorA and PorB) do?
-they promote invasion of epithelial cells
what do Opa proteins do?
promote adherence to and invasion into host cells
where in particular does gonococcus multiply once it has invaded the cell?
the endocytic vacuole
what is the cure for gonococcus?
ceftriaxone
what is tenesmus? what is it a clinical symptom for?
constant feeling of needing to pass stool; rectal gonococcal infection
in which population is symptomatic gonococcal urethritis more common, men or women?
men (makes sense right? the urethra is much longer so there’s plenty of site for infection and purulent inflammation)
what is PID and what does it have to do with gonococcal cervicitis?
- PID: pelvic inflammatory disease= consists of endometritis, salpingitis and/or oophoritis
- gonococcal cervicitis can progress to pelvic inflammatory disease (especially during menstruation and with IUD use!)
what are symptoms of PID?
-symptoms= LQ abd pain, dyspareunia (pain during sexual intercourse), purulent vaginal discharge
name the five main complications of PID
- sterility
- ectopic pregnancy
- abscesses
- peritonitis (the bug can get into the peritoneal fluid)
- Peri-hepatitis (Fitz-Hugh-Curtis syndrome):infection of capsule surrounding liver
what is used to treat neonatal conjunctivitis from maternally acquired gonorrhea and chlamydia
a few drops of erythromycin in the eye
what are the identifying characteristics of N. gonorrheae?
gram-negative diplococci; kidney bean shaped; facultative anaerobe; grows best in high CO2; glucose and maltose fermenting (not lactose)
what are the two life cycle forms of chlamydia
elementary body (spreads from cell to cell) and initial body (replicates within cell)
what antibiotics are used for chlamydia
doxycycline (second line after azithromycin for C. trachomitis); macrolides; floroquinolones
what are the three species of chlamydia and what do they infect
trachomatis: eyes, genitals lungs
psittaci: lungs
pneumonia: lungs
what is trachoma
chlamydia trachomatis causes a chronic conjuctivitis that leads to blindness (slowly develops over 10-15 years)
is inclusion conjunctivitis treated topically or with oral dose
oral dose (after diagnosis via inclusion bodies in histology)
what population is most at risk for psittacosis (an atypical pneumonia from Chlamydia psittaci)?
people who work with birds
what toxins does Treponema produce
trick question! no toxins or destructive enzymes; rather, disease results from host immune response
what are the three clinical stages of syphilis?
- primary= painless chancre appears 3-6 weeks after infection; regional nontender LAD
- secondary= systemic (after 6 weeks); generalized rash and LAD; organ involvement
- tertiary= (6-40 years); organ, vascular and nerve damage due to chronic inflammation
what are the symptoms of tertiary syphilis
- gummas (granulomas) in skin and bones
- cardiovascular syphilis (aneurysms can occur)
- neurosyphilis
what happens in most cases of congenital syphilis
spontaneous abortion or stillbirth
those that survive may have early congenital syphilis (rash and LAD) or late congenital syphilis (neurosyphilis and bone disease and eye disease)
