“Clostridium Difficile are the bacteria that can cause irritation or swelling of the large intestine, or colon. The inflammation caused by this bacteria is known as colitis.
Inflammation further causes diarrhea, fever, and abdominal cramping” (WebMD, C. Diff.
Overview 2015). Put it all together and you get Clostridium Difficile Colitis.
In 1973, John G. Bartlett began to see the connection between hospital diarrhea cases and colitis. He recognized articles with series of cases including deaths from various places. Bartlett figured “the pathological course of this illness was a severe inflammatory process with and without pseudomembranes, which involved the large intestine”(Oxford Journal, clinical infectious diseases 2014). 1975 Bartlett mobilized
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“The first step in the discovery process was adapting the hamster model of antibiotic-associated colitis. This was accomplished by demonstrating the pathological similarities, then the relationship to clindamycin exposure, and finally the beneficial effect of vancomycin treatment”( Oxford Journal, clinical infectious diseases 2014). The
Hamster model progressed the studies on treatments for the disease and set in motion the process of identifying the caustic microorganism. “They identified the caustic microorganism two years later by first discovering a toxin-producing clostridium in the cecum; or pouch connected to the junction of the small and large intestines; of infected hamsters”(Oxford Journal, Clinical infectious diseases 2014). The disease was originally labeled incorrectly as C. sordellii, however in 1978, Bartlett corrected them that C. difficile in fact played the pathogenic role in the disease. Lastly the discovery of the cytotoxin assay was an absolute breakthrough that led to unraveling the Clostridium
Difficile toxin story.
Clostridium Difficile Colitis 4
The symptoms for Clostridium difficile colitis are horrible. They include bloody
ABSTRACT: Water samples from local ponds and lakes and snow runoff were collected and tested for coliform as well as Escherichia coli. Humans as well as animals come into contact with these areas, some are used for recreational activities such as swimming and some are a source of drinking water for both animals and humans The main goal of this experiment was to see which lakes, snow run off and ponds tested positive for coliform or Escherichia coli and to come up with some reasoning as to why. It was found that the more remote pond with less contact contained the most Escherichia coli. However, another lake that many swim in and use as their drinking water indeed tested positive for a small amount of Escherichia coli. The two samples from the snow showed negative results for both coliform and Escherichia coli and the two more public ponds that aren’t as commonly used as a source of human drinking water but animal drinking water tested in the higher range for coliforms but in the little to no Escherichia coli range. It was concluded that the remote pond should be avoided as it’s not a safe source of drinking water for humans or animals. Other than that, the the other ponds are likely to be safe from Escherichia coli, but coliforms are a risk factor.
Medicine has been developed and discovered for thousands of years; however, the 1920’s was the first decade that fashioned a pathway for new developments and discoveries. Medical professionals have taken a huge hit for their fight in finding new inventions that can save patients from death’s hands. In the 1920’s, medicine has also taken a tremendous leap in controlling fatal diseases such as diabetes (Pendergast 110). Medicine in the 1920’s has altered the way medicine is shaped today; furthermore, the development and discovery of the iron lung, penicillin, and insulin were the first pertinent breakthroughs in medical history (“Iron” par. 7; Grimsley par. 15; “Banting” par. 13).
When someone first finds out they have Crohn’s disease, they will probably feel overwhelmed. There are so many questions. Will I be able to work, travel and exercise? Should I be on a special diet? Could my medications have side effects? How will Crohn’s disease change my life? The better informed they can become, the more equipped they will be to be an active member in your healthcare (Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of America, 2009).
The first section of the colon is the cecum. It is approximately seven centimeters long and is often wider in diameter than most of the other segments of the colon. The cecum is located in the lower right quadrant of the abdomen. The cecum has no mesenteric attachment making it very moveable. It is held in position by the peritoneum.
Ulcerative colitis progresses from the rectum and moves proximally. Distal disease refers to inflammation that is limited to the rectum (proctitis) or rectum and sigmoid colon. Here it is referred to as proctosigmioditis. If the disease is more extensive it includes the left side of the colon and can cover the splenic flexure. This occurs in 40% of patients. Extensive colitis occurs up to the hepatic flexure. Pan colitis affects the whole of the colon and this can affect up to 20% of patients. Some patients with pan colitis have involvement of the terminal ileum, this is caused by an incompetent ileocaecal valve.
For CSF, 6 of 62 MS patients, and 1 of 40 controls, were positive for ETX immunoreactivity. For the analysis of sera, 6 of 56 MS patients, and 0 of 60 controls were seroreactive to ETX.
Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis are both in a category of diseases called Inflammatory Bowel Diseases. This is a classification of disease in which inflammation forms in a part of the digestive tract, known as the gastrointestinal tract or GI tract, of the patient. The immune system then treats this area of inflammation as a foreign pathogen and attacks it. The causes of both of these diseases are currently unknown to the medical world.
Sephton (2009) discusses an overview of severe ulcerative colitis, along with assessments, medical management, and nursing care. Ulcerative colitis is an inflammation in the mucosal layer of the colon. Ulcerative colitis has characteristics of watery diarrhea with blood, mucus, or pus. Treatment usually depends on the extent and severity of the disease. Mild to moderate ulcerative colitis is treated with 5-aminosalicylic acid. Corticosteroids can be used for patients who relapse or do not respond well to the 5-aminosalicylic acid treatment. Azathioprine or 6-mercaptopurine are immunosuppressive drugs that are used when the disease becomes steroid dependent. For patients with severe ulcerative colitis, intravenous corticosteroids during a hospital stay are used.
During the event of a communicable disease outbreak, as a human services administrator, I would take all of the necessary steps to communicate to youths, parents and medical staff in a timely and efficient manner. My priority would be to isolate the disease as much as possible and to assist those that have been infected with getting the treatment that they need (Graham-Clay, 2005). In the event that there is an outbreak of a disease such as E-coli within a local high school, I would begin by notifying the medical staff immediately. Considering the fact that Ecoli is a food borne illness, it is considered to be a public health crisis and should be handled as such. There are three recognized phases of a crisis: prevention, preparedness, and recovery. Each of these phases requires planned communication strategies. An outbreak often creates a high-emotion, low-trust situation (Heymann, 2004).
E. Coli 0157, written by Mary Heersink, is a nerve-racking, adrenaline-filled story of a mother's experience with a then unknown deadly bacteria. The book brings up many reactions in its readers, especially the questioning of the practice of doctors in hospitals. The reader's knowledge base of scientific procedures in emergency centers was widened as well as the knowledge of how to the human body reacts to different agents in its system.
What is Crohn’s Disease – Aimee Rouski Inspired Published on June 5, 2016 in Health What is Crohn’s Disease? See the recent post by Aimee Rouski on Facebook. I became curious about Crohn’s Disease.
Among hospitalized patients around the world, Clostridium difficile is the primary source of infectious diarrhea. Previously, continuously unbalanced intestinal microbiota, usually due to antimicrobials, was deemed a precondition of developing the infection. However, recently, there have been alterations in the biology from virtually infecting the elderly population exclusively, wherein the microbiota in their guts have been interrupted by antimicrobials, to currently infecting individuals within of all age groups displaying no recent antimicrobial use. Furthermore, recent reports have confirmed critical occurrences among groups previously assumed to be of minimal risk—pregnant women, children, and individuals with no previous exposure to antimicrobials, for instance. Unfortunately, this Gram-positive, toxin-producing anaerobic bacterium is estimated to cost US critical care facilities $800 million per year at present, suggesting the need for effective measures to eliminate this nosocomial infection (Yakob, Riley, Paterson, & Clements, 2013).
A remarkable breakthrough in medicine occurred in the late 1800s through the work of Louis Pasteur. Pasteur's experiments showed that bacteria reproduce like other living things and travel from place to place. Using the results of his findings, he developed pasteurization, which is the process of heating liquids to kill bacteria and prevent fermentation. He also produced an anthrax vaccine as well as a way to weaken the rabies virus. After studying Pasteur's work, Joseph Lister developed antisepsis, which is the process of killing disease-causing germs. In 1865 before an operation, he cleansed a leg wound first with carbolic acid, and performed the surgery with sterilized (by heat) instruments. The wound healed, and the patient survived. Prior to surgery, the patient would've needed an amputation. However, by incorporating these antiseptic procedures in all of his surgeries, he decreased postoperative deaths. The use of antiseptics eventually helped reduce bacterial infection not only in surgery but also in childbirth and in the treatment of battle wounds. Another man that made discoveries that reinforced those of Pasteur's was Robert Koch. Robert Koch isolated the germ that causes tuberculosis, identified the germ responsible for Asiatic cholera, and developed sanitary measures to prevent disease. (1)
Crohn’s disease is a chronic inflammatory condition of the gastrointestinal tract that belongs to a group of conditions known as Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (IBD). Crohn’s disease is defined as a transmural inflammation with skip lesions that can affect the gastrointestinal tract from mouth to anus (Mulder, Noble, Justinich, & Duffin, 2013). In Crohn’s disease the immune system attacks the gastrointestinal system and can cause the digestive tract to be chronically inflamed. Crohn’s disease has a variety of symptoms that include abdominal discomfort, diarrhea, rectal bleeding, fever, and weight loss. Crohn’s disease can also affect the joints, skin, eyes, and cause kidney stones, gallstones and other ailments (Warner & Barto, 2007).
one in which the host animal can live for a long enough time for the parasite to