Q: a) Define disinfection.

Disinfection
Definition
Disinfection describes a process that eliminates many or all pathogenic microorganisms,
except bacterial spores, on inanimate objects. In health-care settings, objects usually are
disinfected by liquid chemicals or wet pasteurization.
b) What are methods of disinfection?
Methods of Disinfection

 Chemical Disinfectants
o Alcohol
o Chlorine and chlorine compounds
o Formaldehyde
o Glutaraldehyde
o Hydrogen peroxide
o Iodophors
o Ortho-phthalaldehyde (OPA)
o Peracetic acid
o Peracetic acid and hydrogen peroxide
o Phenolics
o Quaternary ammonium compounds
 Miscellaneous Inactivating Agents
o Other germicides
o Metals as microbicides
o Ultraviolet radiation
o Pasteurization
o Flushing- and washer-disinfectors
Q: c) Name any four protozoal diseases.
Protozoal diseases are the diseases caused by protozoans. These organisms may remain in the
human host for their entire life cycle, but many carry out part of their reproductive cycle in
insects or other hosts.
For example
 mosquitoes are vectors of plasmodium, the cause of Malaria.
 Entamoeba is the cause of human amebic dysentery.
 Giardia lamblia is the cause of diahrreal condition and is common among hikers,
campers, and travelers to undeveloped countries who drink untreated water, and it is
also quite common among children in day-care centres and people who use crowded
public swimming areas.
 Sleeping sickness is characterized by two stages of illness. In the first stage, infected
persons typically experience fever, headache, muscle and joint pain,
and inflammation of the lymph nodes. The second stage, which develops within
several weeks (T. brucei rhodesiense) or within one to two years (T. brucei
gambiense), is marked by involvement of the brain and spinal cord, accompanied by
personality changes, sleep disturbances, and profound lethargy, frequently ending in
death when left untreated.
d) Give the classification of bacteria.

Classification of bacteria
A few different criteria are used to classify bacteria.

The organisms can be distinguished

 by the nature of their cell walls

  by their shape
 by differences in their genetic makeup

GRAM STAIN

The Gram stain is a test used to identify bacteria by the composition of their cell walls,
named for Hans Christian Gram, who developed the technique in 1884.
GRAM POSITIVE BACTERIA
The test stains Gram-positive bacteria, or bacteria that do not have an outer membrane.
For example
Streptococcus pneumoniae (S. pneumoniae), which causes pneumonia, is a Gram-positive
bacterium.
GRAM NEGATIVE BACTERIA
Gram-negative bacteria don't pick up the stain.
For example
Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Vibrio cholerae, which causes cholera, are Gram-negative
bacteria.
SHAPES OF BACTERIA
There are three basic bacterial shapes:
 Round bacteria called cocci (singular: coccus),
 Cylindrical, capsule-shaped ones known as bacilli (singular: bacillus);
 Spiral bacteria, aptly called spirilla (singular: spirillum).
The shapes and configurations of bacteria are often reflected in their names. For example,
the milk-curdling Lactobacillus acidophilus are bacilli, and pneumonia-causing S.
pneumoniae are a chain of cocci. Some bacteria take other shapes, such as stalked, square or
star.
OXYGEN DEMAND
AEROBIC BACTERIA
An aerobic organism or aerobe is an organism that can survive and grow in an oxygenated
environment.
EXAMPLES

a. Obligate Aerobic: survive only if oxygen is present example; Mycobacterium

tuberculosis

b. Microaerophile: That require lower amount of oxygen i.e. 2 to 10%

example; Helicobacter pylori

ANAEROBIC BACTERIA
An anaerobic organism (anaerobe) is any organism that does not require oxygen for growth
EXAMPLES

a. Obligate Anaerobic; which are harmed by presence of oxygen, they can not survive
in presence of oxygen Example: Clostridium tetani, C. perfringens

b. Facultative anaerobic bacteria; can grow without oxygen, but use oxygen if it is
available to produce energy. Example E.Coli, Staphylococcus aureus
c. Aerotoleranct: do not use oxygen but not harmed by its presence