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Lecture: Infection and Immunity
Date: Thursday 7th March
Time: 11am – 12pm
Bacterial Infections and The Comprised Host
Learning objectives:
- Types of infection
- Bacteriology recap
- Antibiotic resistant – including a TED talk.
- Mycobacterium TB (1/3 of the world’s population has TB)
- Immunocompromised patients with bacterial infections.
Book: Mims medical microbiology and immunology.
Microbiology discusses the biology of microscopic organisms or microbes. We use the
clinical microbiology as organisms cause infections in humans, more important organisms
that impact human health and cause disease. Microbe refers to bacteria, virus, fungi, and
parasites.
Bacteriology: study of bacteria
Virology- study of viruses
Mycology – study of fungi
Parasitology – study of parasites.
The first microbe associated with a disease was discovered in 1985, called trichinella spiralis
nematode, it can be seen by the naked eye. Microbial organisms can vary widely in size.
Introduction to infection
We will consider organisms by their groups, summarising the disease and view forms of
disease control. Any relationship between the host and organism is dynamic, a microbe
could be different in every individual. So, we must consider several factors, not only in
human hosts but the stage of growth microbes is in. A host response is the outcome of
interplay between the organism and the host.
Factors that can affect the pathological stages are socioeconomic, environment, age, gender.
Types of organisms:
- Commensals – live within a healthy mucus layer, they don’t penetrate the cell or
cause disease. They just cause irritation (i.e. ring worm).
- Pathogens – these are intracellular, breaking through natural barriers into the cell
and retains in the tissues. (i.e. salmonella in the gut lining).
- Pathobionts – these are spread intracellularly and break down the mucus lining of
the cell, it normally only happens in those who are immune compromised.
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, - Tumorigenic bacteria – penetrate the cell and express tumour response suppressors
in the cell, changing the morphology and DNA in the cell to cause cancerous
tumours. (HPC)
Why is it important? We need to study it to decrease and protect individuals from the
disease (i.e. immunosuppressed individuals). Understanding how it works, the mechanisms,
outcomes, and the treatment types. i.e. TB causes 1.8 million deaths every year.
Those who live in low socio demographics do not have effective health care systems. A lot of
tropical countries have greater number of diseases due to the climate, but they don’t have
the infrastructure to treat the individuals.
We know roughly there are 1407 human pathogen species among major groups of
organisms:
Overview of the weeks:
Week 32: Bacterial and parasite infections
Week 33: Fungal and CNS infections
Week 34: Virus infections and epidemiology.
Week 35: UTI and skin infections
Week 36:GI tract and STD infections
The development of microbial vaccines has developed over the years, resource rich and poor
infectious diseases are killers. In sub–Saharan Africa 10% are likely to have a combined TB
and HIV and southeast Asia has common drug resistance to malaria.
Climate change has an enormous effect on diseases, it could drive malaria outside of its
normal belt. Increases in temperature could mean malaria could be in the UK or US. AS well
as this, resistance is changing over time.
Antimicrobial resistance
Antimicrobial resistance leaves individuals unable to fight bacterial infections. This is usually
generated by mutations in the pathogen and can increase in the doubling time. It can
acquire internal genetic information and adapt to become resistant. It is survival of the
fittest, putting enough pressure on something it will evolve.
TED Talk: Gerry Wright Antibiotics.
Antibiotics are chemicals that prevent the growth of bacteria, becoming resistant means
adapting to the antibiotics. Newly discovered antibiotics were only effective in a narrow
spectrum meaning fewer doses of drugs were sold. By mid 1980s no new class of antibiotics
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