Spirochetes

Question 1

spirochetes

Answer 1

• long, slender helical bacteria with specialized cell envelope to allow flexion and rotation
• stain poorly with Gram stain

Question 2

Syphilis

Answer 2

• Treponema pallidum
• chronic STI
• infection may also spread mother to fetus
• T. pallidum is easily killed and reproduce at site of inoculation
  Primary - chancre with luetic vasculitis
  Secondary - systemic spread, lesions in skin, mucous membranes, LN, meninges, stomach, liver.
  Tertiary - focal ischemic necrosis after obliterative endarteritis

Question 3

Yaws

Answer 3

• nonvenereal T. pertenue
• mother yaw and secondary baby yaws
• crab yaw when papillomas on soles of feet

Question 4

Bejel

Answer 4

• T. pallidum endemicum
• mouth to mouth transmission
• gummas of skin, airways, and bone

Question 5

Pinta

Answer 5

• T. carateum

- tropical skin disease

Question 6

Lyme Disease

Answer 6

• Borrelia burgdorgeri spirochete
• bite of Ixodes tick
• reproduces at site of inoculation, spreads to regional lymcph nodes, disseminates throughout body via blood
• chronic, occurs in stages
  Stage 1: characteristic skin lesion with fatigue, fever, arthralgia
  Stage 2: cardiac and neuro abnormalities
  Stage 3: Joint, skin, neuro abnormalities. Histopath similar to rheumatoid arthritis

Question 7

Leptospirosis

Answer 7

• Leptospira interrogans spirochete
• contact with rats, water, or mud
• can be biphasic:
  1) leptospiremic phase - abrupt fever, chills, HA, myalgias. Leptospires in blood and CSF
  2) Immune phase - production of IgM Abs. Severe –> Weil disease (hepatic, renal failure, shock)

Question 8

Epidemic Relapsing Fever

Answer 8

• Borrelia recurrentis spirochete
• acute febrile septicemia
• transmitted by bit of louse, humans only reservoir
• multiplies within louse, gets into bite when louse is crushed
• splenomegaly with tangled aggregates

Question 9

Endemic Relapsing Fever

Answer 9

• Borrelia spp. spirochetes
• transmitted from rodents via tick (saliva or coxal fluid)
• splenomegaly with tangled aggregates

Question 10

Tropical Phagedenic Ulcer

Answer 10

• Bacillus fisiformis and Treponema vincentii (fusospirochetal)
• painful necrotizing lesion of skin and subcutaneous tissues
• malnutrition cause predisposition

Question 11

Noma

Answer 11

• T. vincentii, B. fusiformis, Bacteroides spp. and Corynebacterium spp. (fusospirochetal)
• rapidly progressive necrosis of soft tissues and bones of mouth and face
• malnourished kids in tropics after recent other infection
• ulcer is usually unilateral and disfiguring