Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Chapter 20 pathogenic gram negative bacteria
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Chapter 20 pathogenic gram negative bacteria
The bacterium Clostridium difficile is a strictly anaerobic, spore forming, bacillus. It is present as normal flora in the intestines in 3% of healthy adults.1 It forms spores for protection in inhospitable environments. When the spore finds the right environmental factors it develops into the bacterium. The spores can survive on surfaces for months waiting for the right environment to grow and thrive. It is Gram positive so it appears blue or purple when Gram stained and has a thick peptidoglycan cell wall. It produces Toxin A an enterotoxin that causes fluid accumulation and Toxin B a cytotoxin that causes cells to lose their structure and die. Clostridium difficile has an incubation period of anywhere from a week to a month.1 Therefore it may take someone a long time to figure out that they have it and they may have already passed it to someone else. The rate of infection is highest in females and people 85 years of age and older.1
Clostridium difficile infection often causes a disease known as pseudomembranous colitis. It is an inflammation of the intestine caused by Toxin A and B. Cell death and fluid accumulation stimulate the release of histamine and this causes inflammation. It is characterized by foul smelling diarrhea, abdominal pain, and fever. Complications that may arise include dehydration due to loss of water and electrolytes caused by excessive diarrhea, toxic megacolon, and in extreme cases death.2
Clostridium difficile infection usually occurs in people who are being treated with broad-spectrum antibiotics. The antibiotics kill all of the normal flora in the intestines leaving no bacteria to compete with C. difficile. It is then able to colonize and proliferate. It releases Toxin A and Toxin B. Toxin A is an ent...
... middle of paper ...
...s of normal flora in the intestines causing more competition for space making it hard for C. difficile to flourish. The intestine is put back into homeostasis. The risk for problems associated with antimicrobial use like the development of antimicrobial resistant bacteria are decreased or completely eliminated with the use of stool transplantation making it an effective treatment for Clostridium difficile infection.2
References
1. Headley C. Deadly diarrhea: Clostridium difficile infection. Nephrology Nursing Journal: Journal Of The American Nephrology Nurses' Association [serial on the Internet]. (2012, Nov), [cited March 18, 2014]; 39(6): 459-468.
2. Lofland D, Josephat F, Partin S. Fecal Transplant for Recurrent Clostridium difficile Infection. Clinical Laboratory Science [serial on the Internet]. (2013, July), [cited March 18, 2014]; 26(3): 131-135.
Clostridium difficile, otherwise known as C. diff, is a species of spore-forming, anaerobic, gram-positive bacteria that is known to cause watery diarrhea. 1 The genus name, Clostridium refers to the spindle shape of the organism while Difficile means difficult in Latin due to the fact that this organism thrives in unfavorable conditions and is very difficult to isolate.4 The incidence of getting CDI has increased over the years due to new strains of increased toxin production of the bacteria and increased resistance to antibiotics.2 It is a gastrointestinal infection, and the most common cause of infectious diarrhea.1 C. difficile was first identified in the feces of healthy newborns back in the 1930’s and by 1935, it was considered normal flora. 2 During 1974, researchers conducted that about 21% of patients that were treated with an antibiotic called clindamyacin reported diarrhea and about 10% of them reported to have conducted pseudomembranous colitis as a side effect of this treatment. 2 It was in 1978 where C. diff had been known to cause anti-biotic associated diarrhea and pseudomembranous colitis. 2 It is known to form spores that resist many disinfectants; it also survives for several months on different surfaces.1 It is a common form of a nosocomial infection and the prevalence of becoming infected with C. diff is about 0-15% in a health care setting. 3 The spores survive well in environments such as soil, water and animals and is distributed worldwide. 4 CDI produces two toxins (Toxin A and B), which are cytotoxic and cause tissue necrosis.4
Enterococcus faecalis is a genus of gram positive cocci and form short chains or are arranged in pairs. They are nonmotile, facultative anaerobic organisms and can survive in harsh conditions in nature. There are over 15 species of the Enterococcus genus but about 90% of clinical isolates are E. faecalis. E. faecalis is a nosocomial pathogen because it is commonly found in the hospital environment and can cause life-threatening infections in humans. It is a bacterium that normally inhabits the intestinal tract in humans and animals but when found in other body locations it can cause serious infections. The most common sites for E. faecalis infections are the heart, bloodstream, urinary tract, and skin wounds. Due to vancomycin-resistant Enterococci, many antibiotics have been shown ineffective in the treatment. In this paper, I will describe the ecology and pathology of E. faecalis; the antibacterial resistance; treatment; and, what you can do to prevent Enterococcus infection.
A common hospital acquired condition that nurses see now days is clostridium difficile. This bacterium usually invades patients who have been on long-term antibiotics that have killed off bacteria that protect them from infection. C. diff is passed from host to host by both direct and indirect contact making it readily moved from patient to patient in hospital settings (Mayo, 2013, 1). Nurses can use the QSEN competencies and KSAs to help treat and prevent hospital acquired conditions such as C.diff.
In the last decade, the number of prescriptions for antibiotics has increases. Even though, antibiotics are helpful, an excess amount of antibiotics can be dangerous. Quite often antibiotics are wrongly prescribed to cure viruses when they are meant to target bacteria. Antibiotics are a type of medicine that is prone to kill microorganisms, or bacteria. By examining the PBS documentary Hunting the Nightmare Bacteria and the article “U.S. government taps GlaxoSmithKline for New Antibiotics” by Ben Hirschler as well as a few other articles can help depict the problem that is of doctors prescribing antibiotics wrongly or excessively, which can led to becoming harmful to the body.
Resistance arises from mutations that are not under the control of humans, but the evolution of bacteria has been sped along by the overexposure of antibiotics to both people and animals. The number of antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria in an area is closely related to the frequency that antibiotics that are prescribed (Todar, 2012). Patients often unnecessarily demand antibiotics to treat common colds or simple illnesses that are not caused by bacteria. Instead, these infections are caused by viruses which, unlike bacteria, are unaffected by antibiotics. Incorrect diagnosis can also lead patients to using unnecessary antibiotics, which can sometimes be even more dangerous than otherwise left untreated. Besides the fact that antibiotics kill off beneficial bacteria in the intestines, misuse of antibiotics provides an opportunity ...
Gut bacteria keep humans healthy by stimulating the digestive process within the large intestines. In order for nutrients to be successfully absorbed in the colon, non-digestible carbohydrates are degraded by beneficial gut microbial. One example of an anaerobically respiring bacterium which dominates the large intestine is bacteroide thetaiotaomicron. This bacteri...
Among hospitalized patients around the world, Clostridium difficile is the primary source of infectious diarrhea. Previously, continuously unbalanced intestinal microbiota, usually due to antimicrobials, was deemed a precondition of developing the infection. However, recently, there have been alterations in the biology from virtually infecting the elderly population exclusively, wherein the microbiota in their guts have been interrupted by antimicrobials, to currently infecting individuals within of all age groups displaying no recent antimicrobial use. Furthermore, recent reports have confirmed critical occurrences among groups previously assumed to be of minimal risk—pregnant women, children, and individuals with no previous exposure to antimicrobials, for instance. Unfortunately, this Gram-positive, toxin-producing anaerobic bacterium is estimated to cost US critical care facilities $800 million per year at present, suggesting the need for effective measures to eliminate this nosocomial infection (Yakob, Riley, Paterson, & Clements, 2013).
“Legionnaires’ disease is a bacterial infection caused primarily by the species Legionella pneumophila, it was initially recognized as the cause of a 1976 outbreak of respiratory disease outbreak in Philadelphia. Legionellosis infection occurs after persons have breathed mists that come from a water source. The most recent outbreak of Legionnaires’disease is in New York City, in the Bronx, with a total of ten deaths and more than one hundred outbreaks, which were traced to a cooling tower, deaths have also been reported in Michigan, and Ohio.
Life History and Characteristics: Staphylococcus aureus is a gram positive bacterium that is usually found in the nasal passages and on the skin of 15 to 40% of healthy humans, but can also survive in a wide variety of locations in the body. This bacterium is spread from person to person or to fomite by direct contact. Colonies of S. aureus appear in pairs, chains, or clusters. S. aureus is not an organism that is contained to one region of the world and is a universal health concern, specifically in the food handling industries.
Through time, most renowned practitioners of alternative medicine have claimed that an unclean colon is the most dominant cause of all kinds of diseases. Without regular and proper bowl movements, the waste material that is supposed to be driven out of the body remains inside. They in turn produce toxins which are slowly absorbed by other parts of the body including the organs. This in no way can be something good for the body. In fact the toxic waste can
Legionnaires disease, characterized as a form of pneumonia, is an infectious disease caused by the bacteria Legionella. Legionnaires disease accumulated its name after it spread to more than 4,000 World War II Legionnaires, as well as their family and friends, which all gathered to participate in the 58th American Legion's convention in Philadelphia, about 600 of whom were staying at the hotel this convention was being held at. The day after the convention was being hosted, a great number of the people began feeling ill. No one began to think anything of it, because the symptoms were beginning to be very similar to any other stomach flu. It wasn’t until the American Legionnaires started dying of an illness no one could figure out what was, that endless tests were completed, and Medical specialists came to a conclusion that a bacteria, Legionella, was spreading through the air conditioning vents in the convention hotel. (Legionnaires disease: A history if its discovery). This non contagious infection enters the body through contaminated bacteria into water vapor that we breathe in, affecting the bronchial tubes, and lungs. Legionnaires disease was then given it’s name in 1976, after it killed 34 people from the convention in Philadelphia.
E. coli are bacteria that can cause an infection in various parts of your body, including your intestines. E. coli bacteria normally live in the intestines of people and animals. Most types of E. coli do not cause infections, but some produce a poison (toxin) that can cause diarrhea. Depending on the toxin, this can cause mild or severe diarrhea.
The most effective way to combat pathogenic bacteria which invade the body is the use of antibiotics. Overexposure to antibiotics can easily lead to resistant strains of bacteria. Resistance is dangerous because bacteria can easily spread from person to person. Simple methods for preventing excessive bacterial spread are often overlooked. Not all preventative measures are even adequate. Doctors and patients often use antibiotics unnecessarily or incorrectly, leading to greater resistance. Antibiotics are used heavily in livestock and this excessive antibiotic use can create resistant bacteria and transfer them to humans. In order to reduce resistant bacteria,
...f infections acquired during the hospital. Many of these studies have indicated that these infection control interventions will decrease the number of sick or dying patients related to hospital acquired infections and lower the medical cost by decreasing the stay of each patient in the hospital.
Campylobacter is a bacterial pathogen that causes fever, diarrhea, and abdominal cramps. It is the commonly identified bacterial cause of diarrhea illness in the world. These bacteria live in the intestines of birds, and most raw poultry meat has the bacteria in it. Eating undercooked chicken or other food that has been contaminated with the juices dripping from raw chicken is the most frequent source of this particular infection.