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Teach Cough Hygiene Everywhere/Pathogenic bacteria
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Pathogenic bacteria are bacteria that cause bacterial infectious disease|infection. This article deals with human pathogenic bacteria.
Although the vast majority of bacteria are harmless or beneficial, quite a few bacteria are pathogenic. One of the bacterial diseases with highest disease burden is tuberculosis, caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which kills about 2 million people a year, mostly in sub-Saharan Africa. Pathogenic bacteria contribute to other globally important diseases, such as pneumonia, which can be caused by bacteria such as Streptococcus and Pseudomonas, and foodborne illnesses, which can be caused by bacteria such as Shigella, Campylobacter and Salmonella. Pathogenic bacteria also cause infections such as tetanus, typhoid fever, diphtheria, syphilis and leprosy.
Koch's postulates are criteria designed to establish a causal relationship between a causative microbe and a disease.
Diseases
Each pathogenic species has a characteristic spectrum of interactions with its human host (biology)|hosts.
Conditionally pathogenic
Conditionally pathogenic bacteria are only pathogenic under certain conditions, such as a wound that allows for entry into the blood, or a decrease in immune function.
For example, Staphylococcus or Streptococcus are also part of the normal human flora and usually exist on the skin or in the nose without causing disease, but can potentially cause skin infections, pneumonia, meningitis and even overwhelming sepsis, a systemic inflammatory response producing shock, massive vasodilation and death.Fish DN Optimal antimicrobial therapy for sepsis Am J Health Syst Pharm 59 Suppl 1 S13–9 2002 February 11885408 http://www.ajhp.org/cgi/pmidlookup?view=long&pmid=11885408
Some species of bacteria, such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Burkholderia cenocepacia, and Mycobacterium avium complex|Mycobacterium avium, are opportunistic infection|opportunistic pathogens and cause disease mainly in people suffering from immunosuppression or cystic fibrosis. Heise E Diseases associated with immunosuppression 1568899 Environ Health Perspect 43 9–19 1982 7037390 10.2307/3429162 3429162Saiman L Microbiology of early CF lung disease Paediatr Respir Rev 5 Suppl A S367–9 2004 14980298 http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S1526054204900656 10.1016/S1526-0542(04)90065-6
Intracellular
Other organisms invariably cause disease in humans, such as obligate intracellular parasites that are able to grow and reproduce only within the cells of other organisms. Still, infections with intracellular bacteria may be asymptomatic, such as during the incubation period. An example of intracellular bacteria is Rickettsia. One species of Rickettsia causes typhus, while another causes Rocky Mountain spotted fever.
Chlamydia (bacterium)|Chlamydia, another phylum of obligate intracellular parasites, contains species that can cause pneumonia, or urinary tract infection and may be involved in coronary heart disease. Belland R, Ouellette S, Gieffers J, Byrne G Chlamydia pneumoniae and atherosclerosis Cell Microbiol 6 2 117–27 2004 14706098 10.1046/j.1462-5822.2003.00352.x
Mycobacterium and Brucella can exist intracellularly, though they are facultative (not obligate intracellular parasites.)
By location
Following is a list of bacterial infections classified by location in the body:
Bacterial vaginosis is a disease of the vagina caused by an imbalance of naturally occurring bacterial flora and is often confused with yeast infection (candidiasis), or infection with Trichomonas vaginalis (trichomoniasis), which are not caused by bacteria.http://women.webmd.com/features/is-it-yeast-infection Terri Warren, RN Is It a Yeast Infection? 2010 2011-02-2310.1016/S0029-7844(01)01759-8 Ferris DG, Nyirjesy P, Sobel JD, Soper D, Pavletic A, Litaker MS 2002 March Over-the-counter antifungal drug misuse associated with patient-diagnosed vulvovaginal candidiasis Obstetrics and Gynecology 99 3 419–425 11864668
Bacterial meningitis is a bacterial inflammation of the meninges, that is, the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord.
Bacterial pneumonia is a bacterial infection of the lungs.
Urinary tract infection is almost exclusively caused by bacteria. Symptoms include frequent feeling and/or need to urinate, pain during urination, and cloudy urine.http://www.medicinenet.com/urine_infection/page4.htm Urinary Tract Infections 2010-02-04 The main causal agent is Escherichia coli. Although urine contains a variety of fluids, salts, and waste products, it does not usually have bacteria in it,http://www.med.umich.edu/1libr/aha/aha_asybac_crs.htm Adult Health Advisor 2005.4: Bacteria in Urine, No Symptoms (Asymptomatic Bacteriuria) 2007-08-25 http://web.archive.org/web/20070712060000/http://www.med.umich.edu/1libr/aha/aha_asybac_crs.htm 2007-07-12 but when bacteria get into the Urinary bladder|bladder or kidney and multiply in the urine, they may cause a UTI.
Bacterial gastroenteritis is caused by pathogenic enteric bacteria. Such pathogenic enteric bacteria are generally distinguished from the usually harmless bacteria of the normal gut flora, but the distinction is often not fully clear, and Escherichia, for example, can belong to either group.
Bacterial skin infections include:
Impetigo is a highly contagious bacterial human skin|skin infection most common among pre-school children.NHS Impetigo It is primarily caused by Staphylococcus aureus, and sometimes by Streptococcus pyogenes.Kumar, Vinay; Abbas, Abul K.; Fausto, Nelson; & Mitchell, Richard N. (2007). Robbins Basic Pathology (8th ed.). Saunders Elsevier. pp. 843 978-1-4160-2973-1
Erysipelas is an acute streptococcus bacterial infectionthree/000036667 erysipelas of the deep epidermis with lymphatic spread.
Cellulitis is a diffuse inflammationtwo/000019077 cellulitis of connective tissue with severe inflammation of dermal and subcutaneous layers of the skin. Cellulitis can be caused by normal skin flora or by exogenous bacteria, and often occurs where the skin has previously been broken: cracks in the skin, cuts, blisters, burn (injury)|burns, insect bites, surgical wounds, intravenous drug injection or sites of intravenous catheter insertion. Skin on the face or lower legs is most commonly affected by this infection, though cellulitis can occur on any part of the body.
Treatment
Antibiotics
See also Pathogenic bacteria#Clinical characteristics|overview list below
Bacterial infections may be treated with antibiotics, which are classified as bacteriocide|bacteriocidal if they kill bacteria, or bacteriostatic if they just prevent bacterial growth. There are many types of antibiotics and each class enzyme inhibitor|inhibits a process that is different in the pathogen from that found in the host. For example, the antibiotics chloramphenicol and tetracyclin inhibit the bacterial ribosome, but not the structurally-different eukaryotic ribosome, and so exhibit selective toxicity. Yonath A, Bashan A Ribosomal crystallography: initiation, peptide bond formation, and amino acid polymerization are hampered by antibiotics Annu Rev Microbiol 58 233–51 2004 15487937 10.1146/annurev.micro.58.030603.123822 Antibiotics are used both in treating human disease and in intensive farming to promote animal growth. Both uses may be contributing to the rapid development of antibiotic resistance in bacterial populations.Khachatourians GG Agricultural use of antibiotics and the evolution and transfer of antibiotic-resistant bacteria CMAJ 159 9 1129–36 1998 November 9835883 1229782 http://www.cmaj.ca/cgi/pmidlookup?view=reprint&pmid=9835883 Infections can be prevented by antiseptic measures such as sterilizing the skin prior to piercing it with the needle of a syringe, and by proper care of indwelling catheters. Surgical and dental instruments are also Sterilization (microbiology)|sterilized to prevent infection by bacteria. Disinfectants such as bleach are used to kill bacteria or other pathogens on surfaces to prevent contamination and further reduce the risk of infection. Most bacteria in food are killed by cooking to temperatures above 73 °C (163°F).
List of pathogenic bacteria by clinical characteristics
This is a rather clinical description of the species presented in the previous section, containing the main examples of Transmission (medicine)|transmission, diseases, treatment, prevention and Laboratory diagnosis of bacteria|laboratory diagnosis, which all can differ substantially among the species of the same genus.
+Species of human pathogenic bacteria SpeciesTransmission Diseases Treatment Prevention laboratory diagnosis Bacillus anthracis
Contact with sheep, goats and horses
Inhalation or skin penetration through abrasions of spore-contaminated dustCutaneous anthrax
Pulmonary anthrax
Gastrointestinal anthrax In early infection:
Penicillin
Doxycycline
CiprofloxacinAnthrax vaccine
autoclaving of instruments Large, grayish, nonhemolytic colonies with irregular borders on blood agar
Direct immunofluorescence Bordetella pertussis
Contact with respiratory droplets expelled by infected human hosts.Whooping cough
Complications:
Secondary bacterial pneumoniaMacrolide antibiotics
Azithromycin
Erythromycin
ClarithromycinPertussis vaccine, DPT vaccineDirect immunofluorescence
PCR amplification Borrelia burgdorferi Ixodes ticks reservoir in deer, mice and other rodentsLyme disease
Early stages:
cephalosporins
amoxicillin
doxycycline
If arthritic symptoms have appeared:
Longer courses of antibiotics
Lyme vaccine
wearing clothing that limits skin exposure to ticks
insect repellent
Microscopy using Giemsa stain|Giemsa or Wright stain
polymerase chain reaction|PCR
serology (low precision rate)
Brucella abortus
Brucella canis
Brucella melitensis
Brucella suis
Direct contact with infected animal
Oral, by ingestion of unpasteurized milk or milk products Brucellosis Combination therapy of:
doxycycline
streptomycin or gentamicin -
Culture (difficult and time consuming)
Agglutination (biology)|Agglutination serology Campylobacter jejuni
Fecal/oral from animals (mammals and fowl)
Contaminated meat (especially poultry)
Contaminated water Acute enteritis
Symptomatically by fluid and electrolyte replacement
Ciprofloxacin in severe cases No available vaccine
Good hygiene
Avoiding contaminated water
Pasteurizing milk and milk products
Cooking meat (especially poultry)
Finding campylobacter in feces Chlamydia pneumoniae
Respiratory droplets Community-acquired respiratory infection
Doxycycline
Erythromycin None None for routine use Chlamydia trachomatis
Sexual (Lymphogranuloma venereum|NGU, lymphogranuloma venereum|LGV)
Direct or contaminated surfaces and flies (trachoma)
Passage through birth canal (Inclusion conjunctivitis of the newborn|ICN)Nongonococcal urethritis (NGU)
Lymphogranuloma venereum (LGV)
Trachoma
Inclusion conjunctivitis of the newborn (ICN)
Azithromycin
Erythromycin
Tetracyclines
Doxycycline No vaccine
Erythromycin or silver nitrate in newborn's eyes
Safe sex
Cellular cytoplasmic inclusions by immunofluorescence
DNA hybridization
ELISA for lipopolysaccharides Chlamydophila psittaci Inhalation of dust with secretions or feces from birds (e.g. parrots) Psittacosis
Tetracycline
Doxycycline
Erythromycin (less efficient) -
Rise in antibody titre
Complement fixation
indirect immunofluorescence Clostridium botulinum Spores from soil and aquatic sediments contaminating vegetables, meat and fishBotulism
Antitoxin (horse antiserum)
Proper food preservation techniques
Mouse inoculation detects toxin from food, intestinal contents or serum
Culture in standard aerobic culture Clostridium difficile
Spores both indoors and outdoors
Human flora, overgrowing when other flora is depletedPseudomembranous colitis
Discontinuing predisposing antibiotic
Fluid and electrolyte replacement
Vancomycin or metronidazole if severe NoneELISA for Clostridium_difficile#Toxin ELISA|Toxin ELISA for toxin A or B
Endoscopy for pseudomembrane Clostridium perfringens
Spores in soil
Human flora in vagina and GI tract
Gas gangrene
Acute food poisoning
Anaerobic cellulitis Gas gangrene:
Debridement or amputation
Hyperbaric medicine
High doses of penicillin G or doxycycline
Food poisoning:
Self-limiting; Supportive care is sufficient Appropriate food handling
Microscopically
Blood agar culture, forming double-zone beta hemolysis|β-hemolysis
Sugar fermentation
Organic acid production Clostridium tetani
Spores in soil infecting puncture wounds, severe burns or surgeryTetanus
Tetanus immune globulin
Horse antitoxin, alternatively
Sedatives
Muscle relaxants
Mechanical ventilation
DPT vaccine (difficult) Corynebacterium diphtheriaeRespiratory droplets
Part of human floraDiphtheria
Horse serum antitoxin
Erythromycin
PenicillinDPT vaccine (no rapid)
Culture on Tinsdale agar, followed by immunologic precipitin reaction Enterococcus faecalis and Enterococcus faecium
Part of human flora, Opportunistic infection|opportunistic or entering through GI tract or urinary system wounds
Nosocomial infections
Penicillin and an aminoglycoside
Vancomycin
Quinupristin and dalfopristin No vaccine
Hand washing and other Nosocomial#Prevention|nosocomial preventionCulture in 6.5% Sodium chloride|NaCl
Can hydrolyze esculin in presence of bile Escherichia coli (generally)
Part of gut flora, spreading extraintestinally or proliferating in the GI tract
Urinary tract infections (UTI)
Diarrhea
Meningitis in infants UTI:
(resistance-tests are required first)
Co-trimoxazole
Fluoroquinolone, e.g. ciprofloxacin
Meningitis:
Cephalosporin (e.g. cefotaxime) and gentamicin combination
Diarrhea:
Antibiotics above shorten duration
Electrolyte and fluid replacement (no vaccine or preventive drug)
Food and water preparation
Cooking ground beef and pasteurizing milk against O157:H7
Hand washing and disinfection
Culture on MacConkey agar and study carbohydrate fermentation patterns:
Lactose fermentation (most E. coli strains)
Gas production in glucose fermentation
Mannitol fermentationEnterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC)
Fecal-oral through food and water
Direct physical contactTraveller's diarrheaEnteropathogenic E. coli
Transmission_(medicine)#Vertical_Transmission|Vertical, in utero or at birthDiarrhea in infantsE. coli O157:H7
Reservoir in cattle Hemorrhagic colitis
Hemolytic-uremic syndrome Francisella tularensis
Vector (epidemiology)|vector-borne by arthropods
Infected wild or domestic animals, birds or house petsTularemiaStreptomycin
GentamicinAvoiding insect vectors
Precautions when handling wild animals or animal products (rarely cultured)
Serology Haemophilus influenzae
Droplet contact
Human flora of e.g. upper respiratory tractBacterial meningitis
Upper respiratory tract infections
Pneumonia, bronchitis Meningitis:
(resistance-tests are required first)
Cephalosporin#Third_generation|Third generation cephalosporin, e.g. cefotaxime or ceftriaxone
Ampicillin and sulbactam combinationHib vaccine to infants
Rifampin prophylacticallyCulture on chocolate agar with hemin (factor X) and Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide|NAD+ (factor V)
Quellung reaction
Immunofluorescence staining of capsule
Detection of capsular antigen in Cerebrospinal fluid|CSF or other body fluids Helicobacter pylori
Colonizing stomach
Unclear person-to-person transmissionPeptic ulcer
Risk factor for gastric carcinoma and gastric B-cell lymphomaTetracycline, metronidazole and bismuth salt combination (No vaccine or preventive drug) Microscopically
Corkscrew movement
Urease-positivity by radioactively labeled urea
Serology by ELISA Legionella pneumophila
Droplet contact, from e.g. cooling towers, humidifiers, air conditioners and water distribution systemsLegionnaire's Disease
Pontiac fever
Macrolides, e.g. erythromycin or azithromycin
Fluoroquinolones (no vaccine or preventive drug)
Heating water
Culture from respiratory secretions on buffered charcoal yeast extract enriched with L-cysteine, iron and Alpha-ketoglutaric acid|α-ketoglutarate
Serology, including direct immunofluorescence and radioimmunoassay for antigen in urine
Hybridization to ribosomal RNA using DNA probe Leptospira interrogans
Food and water contaminated by e.g. urine from wild or domestic animals. Leptospira survives for weeks in stagnant water.LeptospirosisPenicillin G
Tetracycline, e.g. doxycycline (no vaccine)
Doxycycline
Prevention of exposure
Rodent controlDark-field microscopy on fresh blood smear (but doesn't stain well)
Serologic agglutionation tests Listeria monocytogenes
Dairy products, ground meats, poultry
Transmission_(medicine)#Vertical_Transmission|Vertical to newborn or fetusListeriosis
Ampicillin
Co-trimoxazole (no vaccine)
Proper food preparation and handlingCSF
Beta-hemolysis and catalase production on blood agar
Microscopy for morphology and motility Mycobacterium leprae
Prolonged human-human contact, e.g. through exudates from skin lesions to abrasion of other personLeprosy (Hansen's disease) Tuberculoid form:
Dapsone and rifampin
Lepromatous form:
Clofazimine
Bacillus Calmette-Guérin|BCG vaccine shows some effects Tuberculoid form:
Hard to isolate (diagnosis on clinical findings and histology of biopsies)
Lepromatous form:
Acid-fast staining from e.g. skin scrapings Mycobacterium tuberculosis
Droplet contactTuberculosis
(difficult, see Tuberculosis treatment for more details)
Standard "short" course:
First 2 months, combination:
Isoniazid
Rifampicin
Pyrazinamide
Ethambutol
Further 4 months, combination:
Isoniazid
RifampicinBacillus Calmette-Guérin|BCG vaccine
IsoniazidZiehl-Neelsen stain showing acid-fast bacteria
Hybridization probes for DNA, succeeded by Polymerase chain reaction|PCR
Culture on Lowenstein-Jensen agar Mycoplasma pneumoniae
Human flora
Droplet contactMycoplasma pneumoniaDoxycycline and erythromycin (difficult to culture)
Serologic tests, e.g. complement fixation test
DNA probes on sputum specimens Neisseria gonorrhoeae
Sexually transmitted disease|Sexually transmitted
Vertical transmission|vertical in birthGonorrhea
Ophthalmia neonatorum
Septic arthritis Uncomplicated gonorrhea:
Ceftriaxone
Tetracycline, e.g. doxycycline if also chlamydia is suspected
Spectinomycin for resistance or patient allergy to cephalosporin
Ophthalmia neonatorum:
Tetracycline or erythromycin into eyes (No vaccine)
Safe sex
Tetracycline or erythromycin into eyes of newborn at riskGram-negative bacteria|Gram-negative diplococci in neutrophils from urethral exudates
Oxidase test on culture on Thayer-Martin agar under increased oxygen tension
Fermentation of glucose but not maltose Neisseria meningitidisRespiratory dropletsMeningococcal disease including meningitis
Waterhouse-Friderichsen syndromePenicillin G
Cefotaxime
CeftriaxoneNmVac4-A/C/Y/W-135 vaccine
Rifampin
Microscopy showing gram-negative diplococci, often with polymorphonuclear leukocytes|PMNs
Culture on chocolate agar, giving positive oxidase test and fermentation of glucose and maltose in 5% CO2 in air Pseudomonas aeruginosa Infects damaged tissues or people with reduced immunity.
Pseudomonas infection
Localized to eye, ear, skin, urinary, respiratory or gastrointestinal tract or CNS, or systemic with bacteremia, secondary pneumonia bone and joint infections, endocarditis, skin, soft tissue or CNS infections.Aminoglycoside and anti-pseudomonal beta-lactam|β-lactam (no vaccine)
Topical silver sulfadiazine for burn woundsColourless colonies on MacConkey agar.
Production of pyocyanine and fluorescein
Positive oxidase test. No lactose fermentation. Rickettsia rickettsii
Bite of infected Dermacentor variabilis|wood or Rhipicephalus sanguineus|dog tickRocky mountain spotted feverDoxycycline
Chloramphenicol (no preventive drug or approved vaccine)
Vector control, such as clothing
Prompt removal of attached ticks
Serology
Immunofluorescence against Rickettsia antigens Salmonella typhi Human-human
Fecal-oral through food or waterTyphoid fever type salmonellosis (dysentery, colitis)Ceftriaxone
Fluoroquinolones, e.g. ciprofloxacinTy21a and Vi capsular polysaccharide vaccine|ViCPS vaccines
Hygiene and food preparationIsolation from blood, feces, bone marrow, urine or rose spots on skin
Colorless, non-lactose fermenting colonies on MacConkey agar
Serology for antibodies against O antigen Salmonella typhimurium
Fecal-oral
Food contaminated by fowl (e.g. eggs), pets and other animals
Salmonellosis with gastroenteritis and enterocolitisFluid and electrolyte replacement for severe diarrhea
Antibiotics (in immunocompromised to prevent systemic spread) (No vaccine or preventive drug)
Proper sewage disposal
Food preparation
Good personal hygieneColourless colonies on MacConkey agar Shigella sonnei
Fecal-oral
Flies
Contaminated food or waterShigellosis|Bacillary dysentery/ShigellosisCiprofloxacin or azithromycinProtection of water and food supplies
Vaccines are in trial stageInstitut Pasteur Press Office - Vaccine against shigellosis (bacillary dysentery):a promising clinical trial 15 January 2009. Retrieved on 27 February 2009
Culture on Hektoen agar or other media for intestinal pathogens Staphylococcus aureus
Human flora on Mucous membrane|mucosae in e.g. anterior nares and vagina, entering through wound Coagulase-positive staphylococcal infections:
Localized skin infections
Diffuse skin infection (Impetigo)
Deep, localized infections
Infective_endocarditis#Classification|Acute infective endocarditis
Septicemia
Necrotizing pneumonia
Toxinoses
Toxic shock syndrome
Staphylococcal food poisoningIncision and drainage of localized lesions
Nafcillin and oxacillin
Vancomycin for Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus|Methicillin-resistant (MRSA) (no vaccine or preventive drug)
Barrier precautions, washing hands and fomite disinfection in hospitalsMicroscopy showing strongly positive Gram staining|Gram stained cells in grape-like clusters
Positive Catalase#Catalase_test|Catalase test and coagulase test
Culture on enriched media producing deep yellow, hemolytic colonies Staphylococcus epidermidis Human flora in skin and anterior nares
Infections of implanted Prosthesis|prostheses, e.g. heart valves and cathetersVancomycin NoneMicroscopy showing strongly positive Gram staining|Gram stained cells in grape-like clusters
Positive Catalase#Catalase_test|Catalase test but negative coagulase test
Novobiocin-sensitivity (S. epidermidis)
Novobiocin-resistance (S. saprophyticus)
Culture on enriched media producing white, nonhemolytic colonies Staphylococcus saprophyticus Part of normal vaginal flora
Cystitis in women
Penicillin G None Streptococcus agalactiae Human flora in vagina or urethral mucous membranes, rectum
Vertical transmission by birth
Sexually transmitted disease|SexualMeningitis and septicemia in neonates
Endometritis in postpartum women
Opportunistic infections with septicemia and pneumoniaPenicillin G
Ampicillin
Aminoglycoside in case of lethal infection NoneCulture showing large colonies with Hemolysis_(microbiology)#Beta|β-hemolysis
Negative catalase test
Hydrolyzes sodium hippurate Streptococcus pneumoniae Respiratory droplets
Often human flora in nasopharynx (spreading in immunocompromised)Acute bacterial pneumonia & meningitis in adults
Otitis media and sinusitis in childrenPenicillin G
Vancomycin for resistant strains23-serotype vaccine for adults (Pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine|PPV)
Heptavalent conjugated vaccine for children (Pneumococcal conjugate vaccine|PCV)Microscopy showing gram-positive, encapsulated lancet-shaped diplococci
Hemolysis_(microbiology)#Alpha|α-hemolysis on blood agar, bile-soluble, optochin-sensitive
Positive Quellung reaction Streptococcus pyogenesRespiratory droplets
Direct physical contact with impetigo lesions
Streptococcal pharyngitis
Scarlet fever
Rheumatic fever
Impetigo and erysipelas
Puerperal fever
Necrotizing fasciitisPenicillin G
Macrolide, e.g. clarithromycin or azithromycin in penicillin allergy
Drainage and debridement for Necrotizing fasciitis No vaccine
Rapid antibiotic treatment helps prevent rheumatic feverCulture on sheep blood agar forming small, Opalescence|opalescent surrounded by large zone of Hemolysis_(microbiology)#Beta|β-hemolysis
Serology for Anti-streptolysin O|ASO
Very bacitracin-sensitive Treponema pallidum
SexualSyphilis
Congenital syphilis Penicillin G
Erythromycin or tetracycline if penicillin allergy No preventive drug or vaccine
Safe sex
Antibiotics to pregnant women at risk of transmitting congenital syphilis Cannot be cultured or viewed in gram-stained smear
Dark field microscopy
Serology, including nontreponemal (Venereal Disease Research Laboratory test|VDRL, Rapid plasma reagin|RPR) and treponemal tests (FTA-ABS, TPI test|TPI, Syphilis TPHA test|TPHA) Vibrio cholerae
Contaminated water and food, especially raw seafoodCholeraFluid and electrolyte replacement
e.g. doxycycline to shorten durationPreventing fecal contamination of water supplies and food
Adequate food preparationCulture on blood agar|blood or MacConkey agar, enhanced by Thiosulfate citrate bile sucrose|TCBS
Positive oxidase test Yersinia pestisFleas from animals
Ingestion of animal tissues
Respiratory dropletsPlague:
Bubonic plague
Pneumonic plagueStreptomycin primarily
Gentamicin
Tetracyclin
Supportive therapy for Shock (circulatory)|shockFormalin-killed plague vaccine
Minimize exposure to rodents and fleasGram-negative smear
If pneumonic, culture from aspirate on MacConkey agar|MacConkey or blood agar