MICROORGANIS

MS
 MYCOPLASMA PNEUMONIAE
 Description
• Mycoplasma pneumoniae is a pleomorphic organism that, unlike other
bacteria, lacks a cell wall, and cant appear on gram stain but they also have
cholesterol and sterols that protects and strengthen the membrane from
swelling and bursting
• these sterols stabalize the membrane but also allows them to be more flexible
• It does not need a host for replication.
• It is of “atypical” bacteria that commonly causes mild infections of the
respiratory system
• It is characterized by the absence of a peptidoglycan cell wall which results
resistance to many antibacterial agents.
 Epidemiology
M. Pneumoniae is spread through airborne droplets from one person to another
and is exclusively a human pathogen. People without symptoms (carriers) may
carry the bacteria in their nose or throat at one time or another.
Generally the infectious agent may be transmitted by saliva, air, cough, fecal-oral
route, surfaces, blood, needles, blood transfusions, sexual contact, mother to fetus,
etc.
Although mycoplasmal pneumonia is common all age groups, it is most common in
the first 2 decades of life, it is rare in children younger than 5 years, and has the
highest rate of infection in individuals aged 5-20 years.
Prevalence is estimated 2 million cases of M. pneumoniae infections occur each
year in the United States. However, many infections are not diagnosed, so the
actual number is likely higher.
Incidence in M.pneumoniae may cause between 1 and 10 in every 50 cases of
community-acquired pneumonia in the united states.
 Clinical Manifestation

Most common type of illness caused by this bacteria, especially in children, is

tracheobronchitis , commonly called a chest cold
symptoms include: being tired , having a sore throat, fever, cough and headache.
Some people who get ill from M.pneumoniae get pneumoniae
Common symptoms; cough that produce mucus , fever and chills ,shortness of
breath, chest pain and fatigue.
While M. pneumoniae usually causes mild disease, severe complications can
occur, resulting in needing care in a hospital like; encphalitis, renal dysfunction,
skin disorders, etc...
 Prevention and treatment
Treatment: Most people recover from an illness caused by Mycoplasma
pneumoniae without medicine. However, if someone develops pneumonia caused
by M. pneumoniae, doctors usually prescribe antibiotics as treatment. Antibiotics
can help patients recover from the illness faster if started early on.
Prevention: cover your mouth or nose with a tissue when you sneeze, throw away
your used tissues, wash your hands often for at least 20 seconds, if soap and water
are not available, use alcohol-based hand rub.
There is no vaccine to prevent M. pneumoniae infections
ACINETOBACTER
BAUMANNII
 General description
Acinetobacter baumannii is a Gram-negative bacillus that is strictly aerobic,
pleomorphic and non-motile.
A baumannii is a water organism and preferentially colonizes aquatic
enviroments.
It can be an opportunistic pathogen in humans, affecting people with
compromised immune system, and it is the most infection-causing species.
The organism has the ability to accumulate diverse mechanisms of resistance,
leading to the emergence of strains that are resistant to all commercially-
available antibiotics
 Epidemiology

A. baumannii is often cultured from hospitalzed patients' sputum or respiratory secretions, wounds
and urine.
It has been shown to colonize the skin, as well as being isolated in high numbers from the
respiratory and oropharynx secretions of infected individuals.
Acinetobacter can live for long periods of time on environmental surfaces and shared equipment if
they are not properly cleaned. The germs can spread from one person to another through contact
with these contaminated surfaces or equipment or through person to person spread, often via
contaminated hands.
Acinetobacter caused an estimated range of 41,400 to 83,000 infections per year in the United
States and 1 million cases globally per year.
A. baumannii has a high incidence among immunocomprimised individuals, particaly those who
have experienced a prolonged hospital stay.
Incidence of Acinetobacter baumannii in intensive care units were 56.5 cases per 1,000 patients
In 2017, it caused an estimated 8,500 infections in hospitalized patients and 700 estimated deaths
in the United States
 Clinical Manifestation
A. baumannii is mostly a nosocomial infection, diseases may include:
Pneumonia, Bloodstream infections, Meningitis , Wound and surgical site infections
including the bacterium necrotizing fasciitis, Urinary Tract Infections (UTI).
Symptoms of A. baumannii infections are often clinically indistinguishable from
those of infections caused by other opportunistic bacteria.
 Bloodstream infections often initially cause symptoms like fever and chills, rash,
and confusion or other altered mental states
 UTIs typically cause various urinary symptoms, including pain or burning
sensations while urinating, foul-smelling urine that may be cloudy or bloody, and a
strong urge to urinate frequently.
 Meningitis may cause a number of flu-like symptoms , including fever, headache,
confusion, sensitivity to bright light, and nausea.
 Prevention and treatment
Treatment:
Beta-lactam antibiotics are the prefered antibacterial choices for susceptible A.
baumannii infections, because of increasing resistance, carbapenems have
become an increasingly critical therapeutic option for Acinetobacter infections.
Minocycline may retain antimicrobial activity even against strains resistant to
other tetracyclines.
Prevention: Patients and caregivers should keep their hands clean to avoid getting
sick and spreading germs that can cause infections, keep wounds covered, and
every attempt should be made to isolate patients who are colonized with
Acinobacter in order to prevent other patients from becoming colonized.
 VARICELLA ZOSTER VIRUS
 General description
Varicella-Zoster virus belongs to the subfamily alphaherpesviridae in the
Herpesviridae family, is reponsible for two distinct entities; varicella and herpes
zoster.
The Varicella-Zoster virus has a diameter of 150-200 nm and contains a linear,
double stranded DNA genome, enclosed within an icosahedral capsid, surrounded
by a phospholipid envelope.
 Epidemiology
Chickenpox is a highly contagious disease. The virus spreads easily from people
with chickenpox to others who have never had the disease or never been
vaccinated.
It is spread by respiratory secretions and wet lesions( not crusted lesions)
Varicella zoster virus can also spread from a person with an active shingles and
cause chickenpox .The virus spreads mainly through close contact with someone
who is infected.
Prevalence is an estimated of 1 million people that gets varicella zoster virus each
year in the united states
Varicella occurs throughout the year in temperate regions, but the incidence
typically peaks in the months of March through May
The rate of occurance is about 5 people per 1000 population in the united states.
Immunocomprimised increases this risk.
The median age for varicella cases reported by the incidence studies were 3 a 4.4
years old.
 Clinical Manifestation
Varicella-Zoster virus causes two diseases; chickenpox (varicella) and shingles
(zoster).
Chickenpox is an itchy rash with small irregular rose colored skin lesion with fluid-
filled blisters
 Symptoms include: Fever, Headache, feeling tired or fatigue, loss of appetite
 Complications, such as bacterial skin infections, pneumonia and encephalitis, can
occur and may result in morbidity and mortality especially if the primary ifenctions
occur in adults or those who are immunosuppresed.
Shingles is a painful rash that develops on one side of the face or body.It is a
latent viral infection
 symptoms of shingles can include;mild itching to severe pain, fever, headache,
chills, upset stomach
pain, burning and prickling of skin occur before lesions appear.
 common complication of herpes zoster is post-herpetic neuralgia, which can result
in significantmorbidity.
 Prevention and treatment
Treatment: relieve symptoms, acyclovir and sometimes for shingles zostravax
is used ( a stronger vaccine than chickenpox).There are antiviral medicines
available to shorten the length and severity of the illness. These medicines are
most effective if you start taking them as soon as possible after the rash
appears.
Prevention: Safe and effective vaccines against both varicella and herpes
zoster exist. The varicella vaccine has also shown to be safe and immunogenic
in immunosuppressed children, including those with HIV. If someone has
shingles, it is best to keep the rash and blisters covered to reduce the risk of
spreading the virus.
REFERENCES
 https://www.uptodate.com/contents/epidemiology-of-varicella-zoster-virus-infection-
chickenpox
 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4591524/
 https://www.cdc.gov/pneumonia/atypical/mycoplasma/
 https://www.cdc.gov/shingles/

 https://search.medscape.com/search/?q=Acinetobacter%20baumannii&plr=ref
 https://search.medscape.com/search/?q=varicella%20zoster%20virus&plr=ref
 https://emedicine.medscape.com/article/1941994-overview

 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18754792
 https://www.cdc.gov/chickenpox/about/index.html
 https://www.cdc.gov/hai/organisms/acinetobacter.html

 https://www.omicsonline.org/open-access/a-case-of-coinfection-with-orientia-
tsutsugamushi-acute-hepatitis-band-mycoplasma-pneumoniae-in-a-child-with-fever-
and-systemic-ra-2165-7920-10001004.php?aid=93157