Theme 1: Core Microbiology Flashcards
(218 cards)
Staphylococcus aureus is most commonly infects which tissue?
Skin and soft tissue
Esp. surgical sites
Which bacteria is most commonly associated with foreign bodies (IV catheters, prosthesis, mechanical valves)?
Staphylococcus epidermidis
Which bacteria adheres to metals and plastics using glycocalyx slime to form a biofilm?
Staphylococcus epidermidis
Where is staphylococcus epidermidis normally found?
On the skin
Group A Strep is also called ____?
streptococcus pyogenes
A patient presents with a tongue that is covered in small lesions, making it look a lot like a strawberry. What is the classical diagnosis and which pathogen is responsible?
Strawberry tongue is characteristic of scarlet fever, which is caused by streptococcus pyogenes
True or false: Group A Strep can cause skin and soft tissue infections?
True.
But it is most commonly associated with scarlet fever and necrotising fasciitis.
What is the most common cause of bacterial pneumonia?
Streptococcus pneumoniae
Which gram positive bacterial species looks like bunches of grapes?
Staphylococcus spp.
Which gram positive bacterial species forms chains?
Streptococcus spp.
Streptococcus pneumoniae is a cause of bacterial meningitis in all age groups EXCEPT ____?
neonates
True or false: Streptococcus Pneumoniae can cause otitis media?
True
Strep Pneumoniae is the most common cause of bacterial pneumonia, but can also cause other diseases such as meningitis and otitis media.
What is Group B Strep also known as?
Streptococcus agalactiae
Which pathogen is the most common cause of bacterial meningitis in neonates?
Group B strep/ streptococcus agalactiae
Also the most common cause of neonatal sepsis (neonates = <3 months)
Which gram positive bacterial pathogen is most associated with abscesses?
Streptococcus milleri.
This is actually a collective term for a group of three closely-related species of pus-forming streptococci.
The abscesses can be found in diverse places, such as teeth, lung, liver and brain.
Subacute bacterial endocarditis is associated with which group of gram positive bacteria?
Viridans streptococci
This group includes strep. oralis and strep. mitis.
They are named after the latin word for ‘green’ (viridis) because they produce a green colouration on agar plates.
Blood cultures for a patient on your ward grow streptococcus gallolyticus. What can this be a red flag symptom for?
Colonic malignancy
Strep gallolyticus is an alpha-haemolytic strep species that is found in the normal bowel flora.
Bacteraemia with this organism can be associated with colonic malignancy.
A patient presents with a non-blanching rash and is diagnosed with meningitis. Which organism is most likely responsible for their meningitis?
Neisseria meningitidis
This organism is associated with the classic presentation of a non-blanching rash.
Are the neisseria species’ gram negative or gram positive?
Gram negative
Which organism is the cause of gonorrhoea?
Neisseria gonorrhoeae
Ophthalmia neonatorum is caused by which organism(s)?
Neisseria gonorrhoeae and chlamydia trachomatis
How is ophthalmia neonatorum contracted?
The baby becomes infected during childbirth as it passes through the vaginal canal of a mother infected with neisseria gonorrhoeae or chlamydia trachomatis.
Which pathogen is associated with consuming cheese from unpasteurised milk?
Listeria monocytogenes
Which groups are most at risk of meningitis and sepsis from listeria monocytogenes?
- Pregnant
- Immunosuppressed
- Neonates
(PIN)