Mycobacterium

When I began researching Mycobacterium leprae I knew very little about Leprosy and the information that I thought I knew was actually pretty inaccurate. There are a lot of rumors and theories about the disease and the actual route of transmission. If you are ever unfortunate to be plagued with this disease know that with the proper treatment and handled in a timely matter the long lasting effects will be kept to a minimum. This bacterium is an endospore and can stay dormant until the opportunity best presents itself to infect the host. Mycobacterium leprae has been around for thousands of years and was even mentioned in biblical times. Leprosy is also referred to as Hansen’s disease named after Gerhard Armauer Hansen, the first physician to closely study the causative agent. Mycobacterium leprae is a disease that mainly affects the skin and surface nerve cells of the infected individual. Mycobacterium leprae has a waxy mycolic layer that makes its cell impermeable to a simple gram stain. In order to stain the cell an acid-fast test must be done. In this test the bacteria is put through a series of stains using heat to drive the carbol fuschin and then the counter stain methylene blue into the cell. Acid fast organisms will retain the red and the non acid-fast will be blue when looked under a microscope using…

Name: Chelsy Oubre Causative Agent: Mycobacterium tuberculosis Disease: Tuberculosis (TB) Classification of the causative agent: Mycobacterium tuberculosis is an Acid-fast Gram-positive bacteria History: M. tuberculosis is the leading cause of death with people that are infected with HIV. TB kills a 5000 people on a daily basis. Virulence factors of the causative agent: Mycobacterium tuberculosis enters the body then continues to the lungs. The bacteria while in the alveolar…

Bovine tuberculosis is an infectious disease mainly in livestock caused by Mycobacterium bovis and has had substantial economic impacts in the UK and worldwide. The primary organ targeted by M.bovis is the host lung and the bacterial infection is accompanied by a localized inflammation, resulting in the migration of different immune cells and leakage of serum proteins on the site of infection. Some of the first host molecules to be involved are collectins, which are soluble innate immune…

The Cause and Effects of Tuberculosis What are the cause and effects of tuberculosis? Tuberculosis is a disease caused by a bacterium. These bacteria mostly infect the lungs, but also they can infect the other parts of the body like the brain, spine, and kidney. (1,4) If the tuberculosis bacteria are active, they will cause the death of the tissue of organs that have been infected. Tuberculosis is one of a few diseases that "have caused so much distressing illness for centuries and claimed so…

synthase also has other targets that could be used as well such as the metal ion it binds to activate it. ATP synthase requires a proton gradient between inside and outside the membrane, therefore another target, which would not compete with a binding site. However the difficulty of a target such as this is, the specificity of any drug administered. As The mycobacterial ATP synthase bares much similarity with human ATP synthase, any therapies would need to be able to distinguish between human…

Tuberculosis, also known as TB, is a disease caused by the bacteria known as Mycobacterium Tuberculosis. This disease primary infects the lungs, also it can also invade other parts of the body, which is known as extra pulmonary tuberculosis. TB is an especially hard disease to control because the bacteria can lay dormant inside the body of a healthy person for years without being infectious to others or causing symptoms. This is known as latent TB. However, when the bacteria becomes active in…

as supernatant.The supernatant was filtered through a .22 micron filter in order to extract phages. Since bacteria and other particles tend to be bigger than .22 microns, they would not fit through the filter, thus allowing only phages through. Mycobacterium smegmatis was then added to the supernatant in the amount of .5 mL. It was allowed to incubate for 5 days. After incubating, 1.4 mL of the enriched filtrate was pipetted into a microcentrifuge tube. This was done twice using the p1000. Both…

Eliminating Mycobacterium Bovis in California Mycobacterium Bovis is a strain of tuberculosis that affects mainly cattle, humans, and wildlife. In 1917, the United States Bovine Tuberculosis Eradication Program was established in order to eliminate M. Bovis from the United States. This has been implemented by a state to state basis. Today, all states aside from Michigan and California are considered “M. Bovis free”. Mycobacterium Bovis is a concern as the signs are difficult to identify until…

however, the area becomes redder and is now tender when you touch it. You also suddenly feel flu-like symptoms with fever, muscle aches and a general feeling of malaise. When large, pus-filled boils suddenly appear on your newly slim tummy, you finally present to the emergency room, where, after cultures are sent and you are given a variety of interesting antibiotics, you discover that you are now the unhappy host of Mycobacterium abscessus. M. abscessus is considered a gram…

Introduction Clinical laboratories have relied historically on phenotypic methods (i.e. culture and biochemical tests) to identify microorganisms. This can be time consuming task especially with slow growing organisms such as Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Molecular methods are now well established in the diagnosis of infectious disease. . (Harwood 2012). For the purpose of this essay I will give a brief overview of both traditional and molecular methods that re used today. I will focus on the pros…