What is pathogenicity?
The ability to cause disease, a property of the organism that it either has or lacks
What is virulence?
The extent of pathogenicity, a measurement of the degree of pathogenicity that it can be assessed
What are mucous membranes?
lining respiratory tract, gastrointestinal tract, genitourinary tract, conjunctiva
What are the portals of entry related to skin?
hair follicles, sweat glands, surface
What are the portals of entry related to the parenteral route?
(not parental) – due to penetration or injury
regardless of anatomical site of entry
Preferred portal of entry
“preferred” by the organism, not by us
What is ID50?
Infectious dose for 50% of the test population
What is LD50?
Lethal dose (of a toxin) for 50% of the test population
What is adherence?
Adhesins or ligands on the microbe bind to receptors on host cells
Ex: glycocalyx, fimbriae, M protein
What are biofilms?
-communities of adherent microbes
-an aggregate of microbes stick to each other
and to a substrate (surface)
-adhere to most surfaces with organic matter, a mix of polysaccharides and proteins
-involved in 65% of human bacterial infections
What are capsules?
What is an M protein?
resists phagocytosis
-Strep. pyogenes
What is opa protein?
inhibits T helper cells
-Neisseria gonorrhoeae
What is mycolic acid?
(waxy lipid) resists digestion
Mycobacterium tub.
What are exo enzymes?
enzymes that work outside the bacterium to increase virulence
What is coagulase?
Coagulates fibrinogen
What are kinases?
Digest fibrin clots
What is hyaluronidase?
Hydrolyzes hyaluronic acid
What is collagenase?
Hydrolyzes collagen
What are IgA proteases?
Destroy IgA antibodies
What are invasins?
How does penetration into the host cell occur?
Use actin to move from one cell to the next
What does antigenic variation do?
- Surface proteins are encoded by genes that change
How do pathogens damage host cells?
What are siderophores?
siderophores chelate host’s iron and allow the bacteria to take it up