2670 Chapter 14
2670 Chapter 14
2670 Chapter 14
Chapter 14 Outline
Introduction Infection Versus Infectious Disease Symptoms of a Disease Versus Signs of a Disease Latent Infections
Introduction
The prefix path refers to disease. Pathogenicity means the ability to cause disease. Pathogenesis refers to the steps or mechanisms involved in the development of a disease.
Infection is commonly used as a synonym for infectious disease (e.g., an ear infection is an infectious disease of the ear).
Microbiologists reserve the word infection to mean colonization by a pathogen; the pathogen may or may not go on to cause disease. A person can be infected with a pathogen, but not have an infectious disease.
Copyright 2011 Wolters Kluwer Health | Lippincott Williams & Wilkins
The individuals nutritional and overall health status often influences the outcome of the pathogen-host encounter. The person may be immune to that particular pathogen.
Phagocytes present in the blood may destroy the pathogen.
A chronic disease has a slow onset and lasts a long time; examples are tuberculosis, leprosy, and syphilis.
A subacute disease is one that comes on more suddenly than a chronic disease, but less suddenly than an acute disease; an example would be bacterial endocarditis.
Latent Infections
Latent infections are infectious diseases that go from being symptomatic to asymptomatic, and then, later, go back to being symptomatic.
Examples include syphilis and herpes virus infections such as cold sores, genital herpes, and shingles.
Virulence
The term virulent is sometimes used as a synonym for pathogenic. There may be virulent (pathogenic) strains and avirulent (nonpathogenic) strains of a particular species. Virulent strains are capable of causing disease; avirulent strains are not.
For example, toxigenic (toxin-producing) strains of Corynebacterium diphtheriae can cause diphtheria, but nontoxigenic strains of C. diphtheriae cannot. Thus, the toxigenic strains are virulent, but the nontoxigenic strains are not.
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Virulence, cont.
Sometimes, the term virulence is used to express the measure or degree of pathogenicity.
Example: It only takes 10 Shigella cells to cause shigellosis, but it takes between 100 and 1,000 Salmonella cells to cause salmonellosis. Thus, Shigella is more virulent than Salmonella.
Example: Some strains of Streptococcus pyogenes (e.g., the flesh-eating strains) are more virulent than other strains of S. pyogenes. Example: Some strains of S. aureus produce toxic shock syndrome, but other strains of S. aureus do not. Those that do are considered more virulent.
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Virulence Factors
Virulence factors are attributes that enable pathogens to attach, escape destruction, and cause disease. Virulence factors are phenotypic characteristics that are dictated by the organisms genotype. Examples: Adhesins (ligands) - special molecules on the surface of pathogens are considered to be virulence factors because they enable pathogens to recognize and bind to particular host cell receptors. Pili (bacterial fimbriae) are considered to be virulence factors because they enable bacteria to attach to surfaces, such as tissues within the human body.
Copyright 2011 Wolters Kluwer Health | Lippincott Williams & Wilkins
Examples of encapsulated bacteria: Streptococcus pneumoniae, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae and Neisseria meningitidis.
Flagella are virulence factors because they enable flagellated bacteria to invade aqueous areas of the body; may also help the bacterium to escape phagocytosis.
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Photomicrograph of stained Streptococcus pneumoniae showing capsules (the unstained halos that surround the bacteria).
Exoenzymes
The major mechanisms by which pathogens cause disease are the exoenzymes or toxins that they produce.
Collagenase
Lecithinase
Hemolysins
Toxins
Toxins are poisonous substances released by various pathogens. There are 2 general types: Endotoxins Part of the cell wall structure of Gram-negative bacteria Can cause serious, adverse physiologic effects such as fever and shock Exotoxins
Destruction of Antibodies
Some pathogens produce IgA protease, an enzyme that destroys some of the hosts antibodies; example, Haemophilus influenzae.
Copyright 2011 Wolters Kluwer Health | Lippincott Williams & Wilkins