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Recommended: Papers on influenza
Most of the infections seen today are from H. influenzae and it is the most clinically relevant (lecture 1, slide 30).
H. influenzae can be responsible for many infections, such as; ear infections, sinusitis, bronchitis, pneumonia, conjunctivitis, meningitis, epiglottitis, cellulitis, septic arthritis, and many more. If the infection is not treated, it can be life threatening in small children and immunocompromised patients (lecture 1, slide 31).
H. influenzae has special growth requirement that need to be met. It rarely grows on SBA, does not grow on Mac, but likes to grow on chocolate agar. Chocolate (choc) agar is a good source of both NAD (factor V) and hemin (factor X) (Tille, chapter 32, pg 406). When choc agar is being made, the blood being used for it is heated up, releasing NAD from the hemolyzed blood cells and activating hemin ( Todor, K.).
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The gram stain shows many PMNs, moderate-small sized GNR, rare GPC, and no epithelial cells. The sample is now plated to SBA, Choc, and Mac agar plates, incubated in a CO2 incubator of 35-37’C over night.
I. Possible Haemophilus A. Gram stain = small GNR 1. Presumptive for Haemophilus sp.
II. Culture A. SBA, CHOC, Mac, Quad plate
III. Growth exam and testing A. No growth on SBA or Mac. Growth on choc plate.
1. Round and large, greyish/white and opaque, flat, slightly mucoid
Upon receiving the unknown Microorganism (M.O.) #16, I prepared a slide by cleaning and drying it. Then, using a bottle of water I placed sterile drop of water on the slide and used an inoculating loop, flame sterilized, I took a small sample of the unknown growth in my agar slant and smeared it onto the slide in a dime sized circle and then heat fixed it for ten minutes. After ten minutes had passed, I collected the ingredients needed to perform a gram stain. I got the primary stain, crystal violet, and flooded my smear for sixty seconds, and then rinsed the color off with water until the water ran clear. I then flooded the smear with the mordant, grams iodine, and let that sit on the slide for sixty seconds as well. I then rinsed the grams iodine off with water and applied alcohol to the smear to decolorize the cells; however I made sure not to over decolorize and only put enough drops on the smear till the purple ran clear. I then rinsed the slide with water and flooded the smear with safranin the counter stain and let it sit for sixty seconds and then rinsed the color off with water. I blo...
Digestion of the haemolytic and non-haemolytic cells allowed for easier identification of fragments during electrophoresis analysis. Lane 12 in figure 3 show the size markers of SPP1 digested with EcoR1 while lanes 6 and 7 show samples of pK184hlyA and pBluescript digested with EcoR1 and Pst1. Lane 4 was loaded with plasmid DNA from haemolytic cells digested with EcoR1 and Pst1 while lane 5 was loaded with EcoR1 and Pst1 digested DNA from non-haemolytic cells. There was a lack of technical success in both lanes due to no bands appearing in lane 4 and only a single band appearing in lane 5. Theoretically, two bands should appear in both lanes after successful to allow for fragment identification. A possible explanation for the single, large fragment in lane 5 is that successful digestion did not take place and the plasmid was only cut at one restriction site leaving a large linear fragment of plasmid DNA. The absence of bands in lane 4 could be because there was not enough plasmid loaded into the lane. Another possibility could be that low plasmid yield as obtained when eluting the experimental samples in order to purify it. Lanes 8 and 9 belonged to another group and show technical success as two bands were present in both the haemolytic (lane 8) and non-haemolytic (lane 9) lanes. If the
After 48 hours of incubation the agar plates were viewed. Individual colonies were tested for successful isolation by gram staining and then viewing the stained bacteria under a microscope. Isolation was successful. One colony of each unknown bacteria was transferred to an agar slant for growth. The agar slants were stored at room temperature over the weekend so that they would not grow too much.
S. pyogenes is a bacterium that permeates our society. Today it is commonly known as the cause of “Strep. throat,” or Streptococcal pharyngitis. Modern medicine has caused the eradication of most of its advanced infections, while this most common form of infection still thrives. It is very contagious, and pyogenes travels quickly through places where bacteria flourish, such as schools and health institutions. The body cannot fight this bacterium very well without help, and S. pyogenes was a common cause of death until the introduction of antibiotics in the twentieth century. It has a number of ways to subdue the immune system, but it is almost completely vulnerable to penicillin, even after decades of exposure. While generally no more than a nuisance, this bacterium continues to be an interesting topic of discussion. (6,3,2)
This pathogen, Streptococcus pneumoniae, is a gram-positive coccus that is long shaped and usually seen in groups of pairs (Todar, 2008-2012). This pathogen ranges from o.5-1.25 micrometers, which is pretty small in size (Todar, 2008-2012). It “lacks catalase and ferments glucose into lactic acid” (Todar, 2008-2012). To grow this bacterium in the lab the best way to do it would be to grow it on a blood agar at 37 degrees Celsius and produces a green zone arou...
The Influenza virus is a unique respiratory viral disease that can have serious economic and social disruption to society. The virus is airborne transmitted through droplets release by coughing or sneezing from an infected person or by touching infected surfaces. Symptoms range from mild to severe and may even result in death. People with the virus usually experience fever, headache, shivering, muscle pain and cough, which can lead to more severe respiratory illness such as pneumonia. People most susceptible to the flu virus are elderly individuals and young children as well as anyone whose health or immune system has been compromise. The most effective way to counteract the influenza virus is to get the flu vaccine which is available by shots or nasal spray before the flu season as well as practicing safe hygiene. (CDC, 2013)
For long before the 1918 pandemic, doctors had been trying to isolate the microorganism that causes influenza. In 1892, one man, Dr. Friedrich Johann Pfeiffer, believed he had the answer. His discovery, Pfeiffer’s bacillus or Hemophilus influenzae, was widely known as the culprit. However, during the first wave of the 1918 pandemic, doctors lost faith in Pfeiffer’s bacillus. They searched for it in patients, but rarely found it. In the second wave, the bacterium was present in many, but by no means all, cases of Spanish flu. If it was the cause of influenza, it should have been present in all cases (Kolata, Flu 64-65).
All references and resources are taken from the Public Library of Science, Biology March 2004 issue and from Science March 16, 2004
Hospital-acquired infections (HAI) are preventable and pose a threat to hospitals and patients; increasing the cost, nominally and physically, for both. Pneumonia makes up approximately 15% of all HAI and is the leading cause of nosocomial deaths. Pneumonia is most frequently caused by bacterial microorganisms reaching the lungs by way of aspiration, inhalation or the hematogenous spread of a primary infection. There are two categories of Hospital-Acquired Pneumonia (HAP); Health-Care Associated Pneumonia (HCAP) and Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP).
Kimball, Dr. John. A.S.A. “Influenza.” 8 Feb. 2007. Kimball’s Biology Page. 23 July 2007 http://users.rcn.com/jkimball.ma.ultranet/BiologyPages/I/Influenza.html>.
Influenza is a major public health problem which has outbreaks all over the world. Resulting in considerable sickness and death rates. Furthermore, it is a highly infectious airborne disease and is caused by the influenza virus. Influenza is transmitted easily from one person to another person, which has a great impact on society. When a member of society becomes sick, it is more prone to spread to other people.
Influenza is very contagious and spreads rapidly from person to person. Influenza causes worldwide yearly epidemics. According to World Health organization Influenza affects 5-15% world’s population and resulting in 500,000 deaths yearly. Ottenberg stated that, in United States, an average of 200,000 were hospitalized and 36,000 died each year from influenza complications. Influenza is the sixth leading cause of death among US adults and is related to 1 in 20 death in persons older than 65 years. Disease control and prevention estimates indicate that infections like H1N1 which is one of the types of influenza, have resulted in an estimated 42 to 86 million cases and 8520 to 17620 deaths. As I mentioned earlier that infections like influenza are very contagious, they can spread easily from hcw to Patient and back to hcw. The most efficient and effective method of preventing influenza infection is vaccination(The best way to prevent influenza is with annual vaccination).(Sullivan,2010) (Gregory,Tosh &Jacobson, 2005). Motivated by a desire to actively avoid illness Influenza may increase the risk for death in people with existing heart, lung, or circulation disorders. In fact, the higher than average number of winter deaths in people with heart disease may be due only to the occurrence of influenza during those months.Vaccination provides immunity to fight against infection.To increase resistance to harm by modifying the environment to minimize preventable illness (NEED TO CHANGE WORDING)
At no time was a search for the cure for influenza more frantic than after the devastating effects of the pandemic of 1918. The pandemic killed somewhere between twenty and a hundred million people, making it twenty five times more deadly than the ordinary cough and sneeze flu. The symptoms of this flu were like something straight out of a horror movie: the victim’s facial complexion changed to a dark, brownish purple, the feet turned black, and they began to cough up blood. Eventually, death was caused, literally by drowning, when the victim’s lungs filled with their own blood. The first scientist to claim to solve the enigma of influenza was Dr. Friedrich Johann Pfeiffer. He isolated a bacterium he named Hemophilus influenzae from the respiratory tract of those who had the flu in the pandemic of 1890. He was believed to be correct in his discovery until the pandemic of 1918, when scientists searched the respiratory tracts of influenza victims and only sometimes found his bacterium. Robert E. Shope and his mentor Paul Lewis were the next to attempt to crack the code of influenza. They chose to study the disease in pigs, a controversial choice because many people believed that the swine influenza pigs were contracting was not the same as the human flu. The first experiment they ran was ba...
...mptoms and known pattern of disease. Experiments by scientists, Nicolle and Le Bailly in Paris, were the earliest explanations that influenza was caused by a filter-passing virus. They proved that influenza was due to a submicroscopic infectious agent and not a bacteria. Scientific experiments, such as these, had immediate preventative applications. They were part of an effort to create a vaccine that would prevent the influenza. Vaccines were considered the best preventative treatment at the time. Several scientists tried to create effective vaccines, each with a different understanding of the virus. Dr. Rosenow invented a vaccine to target the multiple bacterial agents involved from the serum of patients. He aimed to raise the immunity against the bacteria, and not the cause of the initial symptoms (Virginia).
The swine influenza or swine flu is a respiratory disease in pigs that is caused by the type A influenza viruses. These viruses are referred to as swine flu viruses but scientifically the main virus is called the swine triple reassortant (tr) H1N1 influenza virus. When the viruses infect humans they are called variant viruses. This infection has been caused in humans mainly by the H1N1v virus in the United States. The H1N1 virus originates in animals due to improper conditions and the food they ingest. The virus stays in latency form, thus harmless to the respective animal. The longer the animals survive the more likely the virus is to develop and strengthen making it immune to vaccines. The virus reproduced through the lytic cycle. The virus injects its own nucleic acids into a host cell and then they form a circle in the center of the cell. Rather than copying its own nucleic acids, the cell will copy the viral acids. The copies of viral acids then organize themselves as viruses inside of the cell. The membrane will eventually split leaving the viruses free to infect other cells.