Streptococcus pneumoniae is a Gram-positive and fast-growing bacteria which inhabit upper respiratory tract in humans. Moreover, it is an aerotolerant anaerobe and usually causes respiratory diseases including pneumonia, otitis media, meningitis, peritonitis, paranasal sinusitis, septic arthritis, and osteomyelitis (Todar, 2003). According to Tettelin et al., more than 3 million of children die from meningitis or pneumonia worldwide (2001). S.pneumoniae has an enzyme known as autolysin that is responsible for disintegration and disruption of epithelial cells. Furthermore, S.pneumoniae has many essential virulence factors like capsule which is made up of polysaccharides that avoids complement C3b opsonization of cells by phagocytes. Many vaccines contain different capsular antigens which were isolated from various strains (Todar, 2003). There are plenty of S.pneumoniae strains that developed resistance to most popular antibiotics like macrolides, fluoroquinolones, and penicillin since 1990 (Tettelin et al., 2001). Antibiotic resistance was developed by the gene mutation and selection processes that, as a consequence, lead to the formation of penicillin-binding proteins, etc. (Todar, 2003). People infected with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) have a sequential destruction of CD4 T cells which always lead to a weakening of the immune system. Despite the reduction of CD4 T cells, the macrophages and dendritic cells are also affected by HIV. Moreover, HIV causes a dysfunctionality in B cells, CD8 T cells, and innate immune system cells (Shipley, 2013). For instance, the reduction of perforin production and IFN-γ secretion in CD8 T cells cannot help effector T cells to destruct virus-infected cells (Kuerten et al., 2008). The reduc... ... middle of paper ... ...PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved from http://moodle.nu.edu.kz/course/view.php?id=2650 (Accessed December 11, 2013). Swiatlo, E., & Ware, D. (2003). Novel vaccine strategies with protein antigens of Streptococcus pneumoniae. FEMS Immunology and Medical Microbiology, 38(1), 1-7. Retrieved from http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0928824403001469 (Accessed December 11, 2013). Tettelin, H., Nelson, K. E., Paulsen, I. T., Eisen, J. A., Read, T. D., Peterson, S., et al. (2001). Complete genome sequence of a virulent isolate of Streptococcus pneumoniae. Science. Retrieved from http://www.sciencemag.org/content/293/5529/498.short (Accessed December 12, 2013). Todar, K. (2003). Streptococcus pneumoniae and Pneumococcal pneumonia. Todar's Online Textbook of Bacteriology. Retrieved from http://textbookofbacteriology.net/S.pneumoniae.html (Accessed December 12, 2013).
Hospital-acquired infections (HAI) are preventable and pose a threat to hospitals and patients; increasing the cost, nominally and physically, for both. Pneumonia makes up approximately 15% of all HAI and is the leading cause of nosocomial deaths. Pneumonia is most frequently caused by bacterial microorganisms reaching the lungs by way of aspiration, inhalation or the hematogenous spread of a primary infection. There are two categories of Hospital-Acquired Pneumonia (HAP); Health-Care Associated Pneumonia (HCAP) and Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP).
Mielcarek N, Debrie AS, Raze D et al (2006) Attenuated Bordetella pertussis: new live vaccines for intranasal immunisation. Vac- cine 24 (Suppl 2):54–55
Todar, K. (2002). Streptococcus pyogenes (Vol. 1). Madison: University of Wisconsin-Madison Department of Bact. Retrieved July 30, 2008, from http://www.textbookofbacteriology.net/streptococcus.html
Group A streptococcus bacteria can be treated with common, inexpensive antibiotics. Penicillin is the drug of choice for both mild and severe disease. In addition to antibiotics, supportive care in an intensive care unit and sometimes surgery are necessary with these diseases. Early treatment may reduce the risk of death although, unfortunately, even appropriate therapy does not prevent death in every case. The spread of all types of group A streptococcal infections may be reduced by good hand washing, especially after coughing and sneezing, before and after preparing foods and before eating.
What is Strep Throat you ask? Strep throat is a sore throat with fever caused by streptococcal infection. Sore throats are most commonly caused by viral infections or other irritants such as smoke, allergies, dry air, or a throat injury, and not by a strep infection. A strep infection causes the throat (pharynx) and the tonsils or adenoids to become irritated, inflamed, and painful. Strep throat is caused by streptococcal (strep) bacteria, most often by group A beta-hemolytic streptococcus (GABS). Other types of strep that can sometimes infect the throat are groups C and G strep bacteria. How the strep infection is spread? Strep throat can be passed from person to person. When a person infected with strep throat breathes, coughs, or sneezes, tiny droplets containing the strep bacteria are released into the air and are breathed in by other people.
Pneumonia is usually caused by infectious agents such as viruses, bacteria, and fungi. These can all be prevented by different immunizations.
Streptococcus pneumoniae ( responsible for causing strep throat and other throat infections ) are spreading throughout communities at an alarming rate, and antibiotics used to treat Streptococcus pneumoniae are becoming increasingly ineffective as a result of the antibiotic being prescribed to so many people so ofte...
Bacterial resistance to antibiotics has presented many problems in our society, including an increased chance of fatality due to infections that could have otherwise been treated with success. Antibiotics are used to treat bacterial infections, but overexposure to these drugs give the bacteria more opportunities to mutate, forming resistant strains. Through natural selection, those few mutated bacteria are able to survive treatments of antibiotics and then pass on their genes to other bacterial cells through lateral gene transfer (Zhaxybayeva, 2011). Once resistance builds in one patient, it is possible for the strain to be transmitted to others through improper hygiene and failure to isolate patients in hospitals.
Streptococcus pneumoniae is a gram-positive coccus. Usually they are found in pairs of cocci, or diplococci, but they may also occur in short chains or singly. When cultured on blood agar they demonstrate alpha hemolysis. They are non motile organisms.
Streptococcus pyogenes is thought to live benignly within one in five people, and is thusly one of the most common pathogens among humans. Due to its common
Penicillin G targets gram-positive and gram-negative, cocci bacteria and is expected to kill Isolate A by...
“In 2012, 1.1 million people were hospitalized in the US for treatment of pneumonia. The average hospital stay for these patients was 5.2 days. There were close to 50,000 deaths due to pneumonia and 95% of them were over the age of 65 (“Pneumonia”, 2016). Pneumonia is an serious condition and the pathogens that lead to pneumonia continue to spread throughout the hospitals and communities. Antibiotic resistance is a huge problem today so prevention and early treatment is very important.
As stated before, HIV-1 and HIV-2 is a virus that destroys one’s immune system. HIV (a Lentivirus transmitted by a single strand RNA) like other viruses enter the cells in the body and through a series of complicated metabolic processes, the virus becomes incorporated into cells DNA via reverse transcriptase (2 p177). Once the cell begins to divide, the DNA becomes part of the CD4+ T cells (lymphocyte) (2 p.367). As an end result, there is an idiopathic decline of CD4+ T cells values (3). CD4+ T cells play a crucial role in the immune system by producing antibodies and controlling the activity of CD8+ T cells (suppressor/killer) (4). The CD4+ T cells also play a role in secretion of interleukins or cytokines, which are responsible for the activation of the natural killer cells and macrophages (4). As the HIV progresses, the CD4+ T cell levels become lower leaving the body unable to fight infections, virus, or bacteria. “CD28
“Viral Pneumonia: Medline Plus.” Nih.gov. 26 February 2014. National Institutes of Health. 23 March 2014 .
What if there were no treatment for strep throat? Or pneumonia? Or sinus infections? It is hard to imagine life without medicine for these illnesses. But what if the antibiotics used to treat bacterial infections such as strep throat and pneumonia stopped working? What if the bacteria were stronger than the antibiotics? The threat of antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections is an increasing concern for healthcare providers, and it is important to reduce the misuse and overuse of antibiotics to maintain control of bacterial diseases.