| What is an infection? | It is when a microorganism accomplishes 5 steps:
1-Adherence and Penetration
2-Survival
3-Multiply
4-Release out of the host
5-Infect other hosts (transmissiblity) |
| What do we mean by subclinical infections? | They are infections that occur but are asymptomatic (most infections are asymptomatic) |
| What are clinical infections? | They are infections that cause symptoms |
| Are infections and inflammations the same thing? | No!
Infection=عدوى
Inflammation=التهاب |
| What do we mean by acute illness? | They are illnesses that occur suddenly and are found for a short period of time (opposite of chronic illness) |
| What do we mean by carriers of infection? | They are asymptomatic infected individuals that are able to transmit the infection. |
| What do we mean by recurrent illness? | They are illnesses that reoccur after they disappear.
For example herpes, which comes from either saliva (kissing, eating from same spoon...) called herpes labialis or sex transmitted called genital herpes....
Pxs present ulcers either on lips or genitals, they disappear yet they may reappear after a while induced by stress. |
| What do we mean by latency of an infection? | It is the time the infection is inapparent before it reappears and causes symptoms (like herpes hiding) |
| What do we mean by NCD? | non-communicable diseases, such as diabetes HTN heart attacks... |
| What do we mean by risk factors? | They are factors that facilitate the infection to have clinical manifestations (such as smoking, non sterility...) |
| What do we mean by immunopathological diseases? | They are diseases that disturb the immune system so that it triggers unwanted actions done by it, makes the immune system as the bad guy |
| Give examples on immunopathological diseases. | ARDS (acute respiratory distress syndrome) which may occur due to flu, burning... and causes pulmonary edema, lungs are filled with water, and gas exchange becomes harder...Thus leading to hypoxia, all due to immune system acting on pneumocytes (cells of alveoli)
Another one is COVID, Hepatitis, Viral Rashes (which are coupling of viruses with antibodies going to the skin and appearing as a rash |
| What do we mean by opportunistic infections? | They are infections that take advantage of situations to occur (for example a person recieving treatment for HIV and another without it, the clinical manifestations...) |
| Give an example of opportunistic infections. | Contaminated Foli Catheter inserted causing urinary edema
Fungi for atheletes feet due to humidity |
| What do we mean by a pathogen? | Any bacteria that causes a disease is a pathogen.
Bacteria may be pathogenic or non-pathogenic, and may alternate between both according to certain conditions. |
| What do we mean by virulent factor? | Is the factor that causes a bacteria to become pathogenic |
| What do we mean by oncogenicity? | virulence that can lead to cancer in some infections. |
| What do we mean by nosocomial infections? | Infections that occur in healthcare places (hospitals, clinics...) |
| In what type of procedures do nosocomial infections usually occur? | Invasive operations where we are inserting something into the px.
It is preferred to leave any invasive action as our last option. |
| What are examples of common nosocomial infections? | Staphylococcus aureus, E.coli (in urinary system causing UTI ) |
| What do we mean by microbiota? | AKA normal flora, they are bacteria that aid with body functions, they are the first line of defense, digestions, toxin degradation and immune system maturation...
for example bacteria that digest cellulose/starch into fatty acids that inhibit immunopathological events from occuring. |
| What do we mean by resident and transient microbiota? | Resident: present always in our bodies
Transient: present for some in a period of time. |
| Is it healthy to consume alot of antibiotics constatly? | alot of antibiotics may lead to damage in necessary microbiota which will lead to more infections. |
| Give an example of transient flora. | Staphylococcus Aureus found for some people at nasopharynx can be transmitted by sneezing/ nose picking to other non-carrier people and cause clinical manifestations maybe. |
| What are probiotics? | the opposite of antibiotics, restore flora activity. |
| What is quorum? | It is a high density community of bacteria that are needed to perform a certain function, for example bioluminescence for vibrio fischeri in symbiosis with fish, they do not glow unless bacteria are in high density making a quorum. |
| What is quorum sensing? | It is the process which makes the bacteria able to know whether they made a quorum or not.
it is done by the release of auto inducers/ pheromones which are recognized by these bacteria, and the more concentrated the more it means that we have a quorum, and thus activating bioluminescence/ virulence.
We may also have a low density community of bacteria but with a high amount of pheromone release, thus acting as a quourm. |
| What is biofilm? | It is when a number of bacteria are stuck on a surface, and start releasing biomolecules (polysaccharides, glycoproteins...) making a layer of slimy substance that may be virulent
An example is plaques of teeth. |
