Bacillus

R.Alice Peace
Assistant Professor
Sporogenous Gram positive bacilli
Decolorize easily, so appear Gram variable

Motile with Peritrichous flagella except Bacillus anthracis

Bacillus anthracis causes

Bacillus cereus causes

First pathogenic bacterium -observed under
the microscope

First communicable disease

First bacillus -isolated - pure culture

First bacillus -attenuated vaccine

 pathogenic bacteria - 3-10μm x 1-1.6 μm

Arranged

In cultures they are arranged end to

end in long chains

Ends of the bacilli are

Entire chain is surrounded by a

(glutamic acid)

Capsule formation enhanced - 10-25% CO2 or HCO3-

Formed in Culture/Soil.
Never formed in the animal body
Sporulation - unfavorable conditions
Requires O2
Encouraged by distilled water, 2% NaCl
Inhibited by CaCl2
Same width as the bacillary body– do not bulge the cell
Central or Subterminal (elliptical or Oval)
Fat globules stained by Sudan Black B
Aerobe and Facultative anaerobe

Optimum temperature 35-370C (12-450C)

Optimum temperature for Sporulation is 25 –300C

Grows on Ordinary media

 :
Irregularly round ,dull, opaque
frosted glass appearance.
Under low power of microscope
The edge of the colony
Has a long chains of bacilli
Resembling
Locks of matted hair- Medusa Head appearance
Blood agar

Non- hemolytic

Gelatin stab – inverted

fir tree appearance
B. anthracis + media containing Penicillin

Bacilli-Swollen,rounded, occurring in chains

‘The String of pearls’ reaction.

Selective Medium – PLET (polymyxin,

lysozyme, EDTA,Thallous Acetate)

In Broth (liquid media)-floccular deposit

 Virulence factors – i) Capsular polypeptide
ii) Anthrax toxin

Capsular Polypeptide - inhibit phagocytosis

Anthrax toxin - A complex of 3 fractions

i) The Edema Factor (OF/Factor I)

ii) Protective Antigen (PA/Factor II)
iii) Lethal Factor (LF/Factor III)
Anthrax – zoonosis

Animals - infected by the ingestion of spores in the soil

Direct animal to animal spread - rare

Infected animals shed the bacilli from the nose, Mouth

and rectum

These bacilli sporulate and remain in the soil as a source

of infection

Human infection - from animals

Human Anthrax is of 3 types:

1.Cutaneous
2.Pulmonary
3.Intestinal
Mode of entry: skin

Common sites: face, neck, hands, arms, back

papule – vesicle containing fluid (clear or blood

stained)

Congestion +, Edema +

Satellite lesions filled with serum with a central

necrotic lesion covered by a black eschar- Malignant
pustule – Hide porter’s disease

10-20% of the cases – fatal septicemia/meningitis

Wool sorters Disease

Mode of infection- Inhalation of dust

from infected wool

Hemorrhagic Pneumonia

high fatality rate.

 Mode of infection: eating carcasses of
Infected animals

Violent enteritis

bloody diarrhea
Microscopy

Culture

Animal inoculation

Serological demonstration of anthrax antigen in

tissues (Ascoli’s thermoprecipitation reaction)

Serological demonstration of anthrax antibodies

in blood
Improvement of factory hygiene

Proper sterilization of animal

products
Active Immunisation

Pasteur ‘s vaccine (Attenuated anthrax bacillus)

Sterne vaccine- spores of avirulent non

capsulated mutant strain

Mazucchi vaccine- spores of attenuated

Carbazoo strain

Alum precipitated toxoid(PA) - three doses

i.m (6 weeks,6 months, booster)
 The CDC classifies agents
with recognized bioterrorism
potential into three priority
areas (A, B and C).

Anthrax is classified as a Category A agent.

Category A - Pose the greatest possible threat

for a bad effect on public health .

may spread across a large area or need public

awareness
80 percent of people -cutaneous anthrax- do
not die.

Gastrointestinal anthrax -half of cases lead to

death.

Inhalation anthrax is much more severe.

In 2001, about half of the cases of inhalation

anthrax ended in death
The highest incidence of anthrax is reported in the South.

111 outbreaks of animal or human anthrax were reported in 2007: including

10 in Orissa, 54 in Andhra Pradesh, 18 in Karnataka, 16 in West Bengal, and

12 in Tamil Nadu.

35 cases of human anthrax were reported in Pondicherry during 1990 to

2000.

Tamil Nadu reported 12 outbreaks of animal anthrax in 2007; 11 in 2008; 4 in

2009; 14 in 2010; 4 in 2011.

 Other than anthrax bacillus

 B.cereus, B.subtilis, B.licheniformis

 Consumption of cooked meat and
vegetables - diarrhea and abdominal
pain

 Comsumption of fried rice – nausea

and vomitting
Diarrheal illness Emetic illness
Food – meat and vegetables Consumption of fried rice

Diarrhea and abdominal pain Acute nausea and vomiting

Occurs after 8- 16 hours after meal Occurs after 1-5 hours after meal

Diarrhea is common Diarrhea is not common

Vomiting is rare Vomiting is common

B.cereus is not found in large no’s in B.cereus is present in large no’s in

fecal specimens cooked rice and fecal samples

Serotypes 2,6,8,9,10 1nd 12 Serotypes 1,3,and 5

Toxin resemble – heat labile Toxin resemble – Staphylococcal

enterotoxin of E.coli enterotoxin