Difference between revisions of "Spirochaetes"

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===Overview===
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#REDIRECT[[:Category:Spirochaetes]]
 
 
*Two families exist, ''Leptospiraceae'' and ''Spirochaetaceae''
 
*''Leptospiraceae'' include the pathogens of the genus ''Leptospira''
 
*''Spirochaetaceae'' include the pathogens of the genera ''Borrelia'', ''Brachyspira'' and ''Treponema''
 
*Many cause zoonotic infections
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
===Characteristics===
 
 
 
*Spiral or helical Gram-negative bacteria
 
*Motile organisms via endoflagella
 
*Poor survival in the environment and sensitive to dessication
 
*Stain poorly with Gram stain
 
*Most require specialised media for growth
 
*Serology required for identification
 
 
 
 
 
===''Leptospira''===
 
 
 
*Motile, helical bacteria found in aquatic environments
 
*Require liquid media for culture
 
*Cause leptospirosis in all animals, which can range from mild urogenital tract infections to systemic diseases
 
*Organisms persist in kidney tubules or genital tract of carrier animals and are shed in urine
 
*Transmission via direct contact
 
*Serovars are fairly host-specific, causing mild disease in the maintenance host, with shedding in the urine
 
*Maintenance hosts may transmit the infection to incidental hosts, which are less susceptible to infection, but develop serious disease
 
* May cause severe systemic disease, resulting in [[Intestines Fibrinous/Haemorrhagic Enteritis - Pathology#Bacterial septicaemia and enteritis|enteritis]]
 
 
 
*Pathogenesis and pathogenicity
 
**Depends on virulence of the serovar and susceptibility of the host
 
**Leptospires invade tissues through moist skin or via mucous membranes, aided by their motility
 
**Leptospires may invade via receptor-mediated endocytosis
 
**They disseminate through the body via the blood stream
 
**Antibodies clear organisms from the blood stream after about 10 days of infection
 
**Organisms may persist in the renal tubules, uterus, eye or meninges
 
**Evade phagocytosis possibly via macrophage apoptosis
 
**Damage red blood cell membranes and endothelial and liver cells, leading to haemolytic anaemia, jaundice, [[General Pathology - Pigmentation and Calcification#Haemoglobin|haemoglobin pigmentation]], haemoglobinuria and haemorrhage in acute leptospirosis
 
 
 
*Diagnosis
 
**Clinical signs and history of exposure
 
**Dark-field microscopy of urine may detect organisms
 
**Isolation from blood or urine by culture or animal inoculation
 
**Identificaiton or certain serovars using DNA probes and serology
 
**FLuorescent antibody technique for identification in tissues
 
**Silver impregnation
 
**Molecular techniques such as PCR
 
**Serology using microscopic agglutination test or ELISA
 
 
 
*Clinical infections
 
**Cattle and sheep
 
***Cattle are maintenance hosts for ''L. borgpetersenii'' serovar ''hardjo''
 
***''L. interrogans'' serovar ''hardjo'' is host-adapted to cattle
 
***Acute disease in susceptible heifers, with fever and agalactia of all quarters; abortion and stillbirth may occur
 
***Diagnosed by rising antibody titre in paired serum samples
 
***Infection in sheep may cause abortion and agalactia
 
***Urinary excretion can be reduced by administering dihydrostreptomycin or amoxycillin
 
***Incactivated vaccines are of questionable efficacy
 
***Serovars ''pomona, grippotyphosa'' and ''icterohaemorrhagiae'' cause pyrexia, haemoglobinurea, jaundice, anorexia, uraemia due to renal damage and death in calves and lambs
 
 
 
**Horses
 
***Clinical disease rare
 
***May be maintenance host of serovar ''bratislava'', which causes abortion and stillbirth
 
***Incidental hosts for serovar ''pomona'', suffering from abortion and renal disease
 
***Chronic leptospirosis may cause an immune-mediated anterior uveitis
 
 
 
**Pigs
 
***The rodent-adapted serovars ''icterohaemorrhagica'' and ''copenhagenii'' cause acute disease in pigs
 
***Severe disease in young pigs
 
***Serovar ''pomona'' is the host-adapted species, and may be shed in the urine
 
***Infections may cause abortions and stillbirths
 
***Pigs are maintenance hosts for serovars ''tarassovi'' and ''bratislava'', which may cause reproductive failure
 
 
 
**Dogs and cats
 
***Serovars ''canicola'' and ''icterohaemorrhagica'' cause leptospirosis in dogs, but are vaccinated against
 
***Serovars ''pomona'' and ''grippotyphosa'' are becoming important
 
***The host-adapted serovar ''canicolar'' causes acute renal failure in puppies; a chronic uraemic syndrome may follow
 
***Incidental infections with serovar ''icterohaemorrhagica'' or ''copenhagenii'' cause renal failure
 
***''L. icterohaemorrhagiae'' may cause [[General Pathology - Pigmentation and Calcification#Hepatic (Toxic) Icterus|hepatic jaundice]]
 
***Serovar ''bratislava'' causes abortion and infertility in dogs, which may be the maintenance host
 
***Infections uncommon in cats
 
 
 
 
 
===''Borrelia''===
 
 
 
*Longer, wider, helical spirochaetes with a linear chromosome and linear and circular plasmids
 
*Obligate parasites transmitted by arthropod vectors
 
 
 
*Lyme disease
 
**Caused by ''Borrelia burgdorferi''
 
**Reported in humans, dogs, horses, cattle, sheep
 
 
 
 
[[Brachyspira hyodysenteriae]]
 
 
 
[[Leptospira]]
 

Latest revision as of 20:56, 14 May 2010