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13 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
What are the GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS of MYCOPLASMAS
Gram stain? What is a unique component of its cytoplasmic membrane? What do their colonies look like? |
1) smallest organism known to be able to grow and reproduce autonomously- - over 70 types recognized
2) Stain poorly and are pleomorphic; possess no cell calls, and CANNOT be identified by gramstain Their cytoplasmic membrane contains CHOLESTEROL, and it's the ONLY bacteria with cholesteral in it's cell wall- - which they get from their host and causes osmotic rigidity 3) No spores 4) Colonies on solid media are small and grow very slowly, and may take a week or two for a colony to appear- - has a "fried egg" look to it, and cannot be seen in ordinary diagnostic bacteriological plates |
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What are the CHARACTERISTICS of MYCOPLASMA PNEUMONIAE?
What makes it "special"? (3) |
* This is the only proven human pathogen though M. HOMINIS has been suspect
1) Differs antigenically form other mycoplasmas 2) Has specialized terminal structure, the protein P1 complex, that probably promotes attachment to host cells 3) Distinctive characteristics, of use to research laboratories, but not to routine diagnostic laboratories; ferments glucose |
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What is the HISTORY and NATURE of this disease?
1) How is it atypical and which population is it most found in? How often to epidemics occur? |
1) It causes "primary atypical pneumonia" which does not reveal normal lobar arrangement in X- ray, and includs spotty points of infection
It is one of the organisms that causes atypical pneumonia; pneumonia primarily found in young adults and was described as a separate clinical entity in the late 1930's Responsible for 50% of summer pneumonias generally occurring from late summer into autumn, and epidemics occur at 4-8 year intervals |
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2) What do early studies show?
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Early studies show that sputum from patients could be filtered, passed in embryonated eggs, and inoculated into rats and hamsters- - because infectious agent is passed through these filters it was intially thought that it was a virus not a bacterium
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3) What % of people infected with mycoplasma actually get pneumonia?
How is it transmitted? |
Only a small percent causes pneumonia and bacterium cause only a mild respirtatory infection, or inapparent infection- - transmitted by airborn droplets
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4) What are the symptoms?
What does the sputum reveal? |
WEAKNESS, FEVER, COUGH, HEADACHE, diffuse changes seen on x- ray of chest, slow onset, and fatalaties are rare
Sputum reveal monocytes and neutrophils, but often no predominant organism |
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5) What does the serum from early stages on pneumonia show? (3)
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1) Cold hemagglutinins
2) positive complement fixation test 3) DNA probes |
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6) IMMUNITY?
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Immunity is not life long
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What is the PATHOGENSIS of M. PNEUMONIAE?
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1) GLIDING MOTILITY
2) ATTACHMENT 3) CILIOTOSIS 4) INFLAMMATION 5) IMMUNE EVASION |
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EPIDEMIOLOGY?
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Spread through close contact
and family |
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CHEMOTHERAPY/ TREATMENT?
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ERYTHROMYCIN or except in pregnancy or in young children, TETRACYCLINE
DO NOT TREAT WITH AGENT THAT INHIBITS CELL WALL SYNTHESIS because it doesnt' have a cell wall! |
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VACCINES?
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NO vaccine developed yet
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OTHER MYCOPLASMS TO CONSIDER?
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1) M. HOMINIS
2) M. ARTHRITIDIS 3) UREAPLASMA UREALYTICUM 4) M. GENITALIUM 5) M. FERMENTANS, M. INCOGNITUS |