Clostridium botulinum

Disease: botulism - a form of food poisoning aka sausage disease (botulus is the Latin word for sausage)
not a common disease
Characteristics: an obligately anaerobic, endospore-forming grampositive rod found in soil and many
aquatic sediments. Ingesting the endospores usually does no harm, as will be explained shortly.
However, in anaerobic environments, such as sealed cans, the microorganism produces an exotoxin.
Botulinal Types
Type A toxin is probably the most virulent. Deaths have resulted from type A toxin when the food was
only tasted but not swallowed. mortality rate is 60–70%
Type B toxin- The mortality rate in cases without treatment is about 25%.
Type E toxin is produced by botulism organisms that are often found in marine or lake sediments
Cause/Transmission: food preparation methods that reflect a cultural tradition of avoiding the use of
scarce fuels for heating or cooking.
The botulism pathogen can also grow in wounds in a manner similar to that of clostridia causing tetanus
or gas gangrene.
the production of toxin by ingested bacteria almost never causes botulism in adults. However, the
intestinal microbiota of infants is not well established, and they may suffer from infant botulism.
S/S: Individuals suffering from botulism undergo a progressive flaccid paralysis for 1 to 10 days and may
die from respiratory and cardiac failure
Nausea, but no fever
double or blurred vision
difficulty swallowing
general weakness
symptoms typically appear within a day or two
Treatment, Prevention: P: Nitrites prevent C. botulinum from growing after the endospores germinate.
T: relies heavily on supportive care
Recovery requires that the nerve endings regenerate
Extended respiratory assistance may be needed
some neurological impairment may persist for months
Antibiotics are of almost no use because the toxin is preformed
Antitoxins aimed at neutralizing A, B, and E toxins are available and are usually administered together.
- has serious side effects, including serum sickness
Clostridium tetani
Disease: tetanus
Characteristics: is an obligately anaerobic, endospore-forming, gram-positive rod. It’s especially common
in soil contaminated with animal fecal wastes.
noninvasive because it does not spread from one tissue to another
Cause/Transmission: blood-borne
Transmission to humans is associated with skin wounds.
caused by an extremely potent neurotoxin, tetanospasmin, that is released upon death and lysis of the
growing bacteria
It enters the CNS via the peripheral nerves or the blood.
S/S: tension or cramping and twisting in skeletal muscles surrounding the wound and tightness of the
jaw muscles.
inability to open the mouth because of the spasm of the masseter muscles.
Treatment, Prevention: P: tetanus vaccine (toxoid) - an inactivated toxin that stimulates the formation of
antibodies that neutralize the toxin produced by the bacteria
tetanus immune globulin (TIG) - prepared from the antibody-containing serum of immunized humans
Legionella pneumophila
Disease: Legionellosis, or Legionnaires’ disease
Pontiac fever - fever, muscular aches, and usually a cough. The condition is mild and self-limiting
Characteristics: an aerobic gram-negative rod now which is capable of replication within macrophages.
This bacterium is considerably more resistant to chlorine than most other bacteria and can survive for
long periods in water with a low level of chlorine.
The organism has also been found to inhabit the water lines of many hospitals.
Cause/Transmission: No person-to person transmission seems to be involved
the microbes can grow in the water of air-conditioning cooling towers, perhaps indicating that some
epidemics in hotels, urban business districts, and hospitals were caused by airborne transmission.
S/S: high fever of 40.5°C
Cough
general symptoms of pneumonia
Treatment, Prevention: T: Azithromycin
other macrolide antibiotics are the drugs of choice for treatment
Bartonella bacilliformis
Disease: The initial stage is Oroya fever, a serious infectious anemia
The second is the eruptive stage, verruga peruana, which commonly begins 2–8 weeks later, although
verruga may also occur in the absence of Oroya fever.
Characteristics: produces an extracellular protein called deformin that promotes deformity (indentation)
of red blood cell membranes.
Cause/Transmission:
Endemic only to the Andes Mountains in Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru, both Oroya fever and
verruga peruana are passed from human to human by the Phlebotomus sandfly.
S/S: OF- red blood cell destruction, enlargement of the spleen and liver, and hemorrhage into the
lymph nodes
VP- vascular nodular skin lesions that occur in successive crops, appears
Treatment, Prevention: T: Ciprofloxacin, doxycycline, macrolides, or sulfamethoxazole–trimethoprim
given for at least 10 days has been used to successfully treat patients.
Chloramphenicol for 14 days
blood transfusions