Pathogenic bacteria

Bacterial infection
Clostridium tetani is a pathogenic bacterium that causes tetanus
Classification and external resources
MeSH	D001424

Pathogenic bacteria are bacteria that can cause infection. This article deals with human pathogenic bacteria.

Although most bacteria are harmless or often beneficial, several are pathogenic. One of the bacterial diseases with the highest disease burden is tuberculosis, caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which kills about 2 million people a year, mostly in sub-Saharan Africa. Pathogenic bacteria contribute to other globally important diseases, such as pneumonia, which can be caused by bacteria such as Streptococcus and Pseudomonas, and foodborne illnesses, which can be caused by bacteria such as Shigella, Campylobacter, and Salmonella. Pathogenic bacteria also cause infections such as tetanus, typhoid fever, diphtheria, syphilis, and leprosy.

Koch's postulates are criteria designed to establish a causal relationship between a causative microbe and a disease.

Diseases

Each pathogenic species has a characteristic spectrum of interactions with its human hosts.

Conditionally pathogenic

Conditionally pathogenic bacteria are only pathogenic under certain conditions, such as a wound that allows for entry into the blood, or a decrease in immune function.

For example, Staphylococcus or Streptococcus are also part of the normal human flora and usually exist on the skin or in the nose without causing disease, but can potentially cause skin infections, pneumonia, meningitis, and even overwhelming sepsis, a systemic inflammatory response producing shock, massive vasodilation and death.^[1]

Some species of bacteria, such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Burkholderia cenocepacia, and Mycobacterium avium, are opportunistic pathogens and cause disease mainly in people suffering from immunosuppression or cystic fibrosis.^[2]^[3]

Intracellular

Other organisms invariably cause disease in humans, such as obligate intracellular parasites (e.g. Chlamydophila, Ehrlichia, Rickettsia) that are able to grow and reproduce only within the cells of other organisms. Still, infections with intracellular bacteria may be asymptomatic, such as during the incubation period. An example of intracellular bacteria is Rickettsia. One species of Rickettsia causes typhus, while another causes Rocky Mountain spotted fever.

Chlamydia, another phylum of obligate intracellular parasites, contains species that can cause pneumonia or urinary tract infection and may be involved in coronary heart disease.^[4]

Salmonella, Neisseria, Brucella, Mycobacterium, Listeria, Francisella, Legionella, and Yersinia pestis can exist intracellularly, though they are facultative (not obligate) intracellular parasites.

By location

Following is a list of bacterial infections classified by location in the body:

Bacterial vaginosis is caused by an infection by one or more bacteria that disrupt the vaginal flora caused by an imbalance of naturally occurring bacterial flora and is often confused with yeast infection (candidiasis), or infection with Trichomonas vaginalis (trichomoniasis), which are not caused by bacteria.^[5]^[6]
Bacterial meningitis is a bacterial inflammation of the meninges, that is, the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord.
Bacterial pneumonia is a bacterial infection of the lungs.
Urinary tract infection is almost exclusively caused by bacteria. Symptoms include frequent feeling and/or need to urinate, pain during urination, and cloudy urine.^[7] The main causal agent is Escherichia coli. Although urine contains a variety of fluids, salts, and waste products, it does not usually have bacteria in it,^[8] but when bacteria get into the bladder or kidney and multiply in the urine, they may cause a UTI.
Bacterial gastroenteritis is caused by pathogenic enteric bacteria. Such pathogenic enteric bacteria are generally distinguished from the usually harmless bacteria of the normal gut flora, but the distinction is often not fully clear, and Escherichia, for example, can belong to either group.
Bacterial skin infections include:
- Impetigo is a highly contagious bacterial skin infection most common among pre-school children.^[9] It is primarily caused by Staphylococcus aureus, and sometimes by Streptococcus pyogenes.^[10]
- Erysipelas is an acute streptococcus bacterial infection^[11] of the deep epidermis with lymphatic spread.
- Cellulitis is a diffuse inflammation^[12] of connective tissue with severe inflammation of dermal and subcutaneous layers of the skin. Cellulitis can be caused by normal skin flora or by exogenous bacteria, and often occurs where the skin has previously been broken: cracks in the skin, cuts, blisters, burns, insect bites, surgical wounds, intravenous drug injection, or sites of intravenous catheter insertion. Skin on the face or lower legs is most commonly affected by this infection, though cellulitis can occur on any part of the body.

Mechanisms

Nutrients

Iron is required for humans, as well as the growth of most bacteria. To obtain free iron, some pathogens secrete proteins called siderophores, which take the iron away from iron-transport proteins by binding to the iron even more tightly. Once the iron-siderophore complex is formed, it is taken up by siderophore receptors on the bacterial surface and then that iron is brought into the bacterium.^[13]

Direct damage

Once pathogens attach to host cells, they can cause direct damage as the pathogens use the host cell for nutrients and produce waste products. As pathogens multiply and divide inside host cells, the cells usually rupture and the intercellular bacteria are released. Some bacteria such as E. coli, Shigella, Salmonella, and Neisseria gonorrhoeae, can induce host epithelial cells to engulf them in a process resembling phagocytosis. The pathogens can then disrupt host cells as they pass through them and be extruded from host cells by a reverse phagocytosis process, enabling them to enter other host cells. Some bacteria can also penetrate host cells by excreting enzymes and by their own motility; such penetration can can itself damage the host cell.^[13]

Toxin production

Toxins are poisonous substances that are produced by certain microorganisms and are often the primary factor contributing to the pathogenic properties of the microorganisms. Endotoxins are the lipid portions of lipopolysaccharides that are part of the outer membrane of the cell wall of gram negative bacteria. Endotoxins are released when the bacteria lyses, which is why after antibiotic treatment symptoms can at first worsen as the bacteria are killed and they release their endotoxins.Exotoxins are proteins produced inside pathogenic bacteria as part of their growth and metabolism, most common in gram positive bacteria. The exotoxins are released when the bacteria die and the cell wall breaks apart. Exotoxins are highly specific in the effects on body tissues and work by destroying particular parts of the host cell or by inhibiting certain metabolic functions. Exotoxins are among the most lethal known substances, only 1mg of the botulinum exotoxin is enough to kill one million guinea pigs. Diseases caused this way are often caused by minute amounts of exotoxins, not by the bacteria themselves.^[13]

Treatment

Main article: Antibiotics

See also overview list below

Bacterial infections may be treated with antibiotics, which are classified as bacteriocidal if they kill bacteria or bacteriostatic if they just prevent bacterial growth. There are many types of antibiotics and each class inhibits a process that is different in the pathogen from that found in the host. For example, the antibiotics chloramphenicol and tetracyclin inhibit the bacterial ribosome but not the structurally different eukaryotic ribosome, so they exhibit selective toxicity.^[14] Antibiotics are used both in treating human disease and in intensive farming to promote animal growth. Both uses may be contributing to the rapid development of antibiotic resistance in bacterial populations.^[15] Phage therapy can also be used to treat certain bacterial infections.^[16] Infections can be prevented by antiseptic measures such as sterilizing the skin prior to piercing it with the needle of a syringe and by proper care of indwelling catheters. Surgical and dental instruments are also sterilized to prevent infection by bacteria. Disinfectants such as bleach are used to kill bacteria or other pathogens on surfaces to prevent contamination and further reduce the risk of infection. Bacteria in food are killed by cooking to temperatures above 73 °C (163°F).

List of pathogenic bacteria by basic laboratory characteristics

Following are the genera that contain the most important human pathogenic bacteria species:^[17]

Genus	Important species	Gram staining	Shape	Capsulation	Bonding tendency	Motility	Oxygen requirement	Growth medium	Intra/Extracellular
Bacillus	Bacillus anthracis Bacillus cereus	Positive	Rod shaped	Yes	Singly	Motile	Facultative anaerobic	Mannitol salt agar	Extracellular
Bartonella	Bartonella henselae Bartonella quintana	Negative	Rod shaped	No	Singly	Motile	Aerobic	Blood agar with lithium heparin	Facultative intracellular
Bordetella	Bordetella pertussis	Negative	Small coccobacilli	Yes	Singly or in pairs	Non-motile	Aerobic	Regan-Lowe agar	Extracellular
Borrelia	Borrelia burgdorferi Borrelia garinii Borrelia afzelii Borrelia recurrentis	Negative, stains poorly	Flat-wave spirochete	No	Singly	Highly motile	Anaerobic	Barbour-Stoenner-Kelly (BSK) medium	Extracellular
Brucella	Brucella abortus Brucella canis Brucella melitensis Brucella suis	Negative	Small coccobacilli	No	Singly or in pairs	Non-motile	Aerobic	Ruiz Castaneda medium	Intracellular
Campylobacter	Campylobacter jejuni	Negative	Curved, spiral, or S-shaped bacilli with single, polar flagellum	No	Singly	characteristic darting motion	microaerophilic	Blood agar inhibiting other fecal flora	extracellular
Chlamydia and Chlamydophila	Chlamydia pneumoniae Chlamydia trachomatis Chlamydophila psittaci	(not Gram-stained)	Small, round, ovoid	No		motile	Facultative or strictly aerobic		Obligate intracellular
Clostridium	Clostridium botulinum Clostridium difficile Clostridium perfringens Clostridium tetani	Positive	Large, blunt-ended rods	Normally yes		mostly motile	Obligate anaerobic	Anaerobic blood agar	extracellular
Corynebacterium	Corynebacterium diphtheriae	Positive (unevenly)	Small, slender, pleomorphic rods	No	clumps looking like Chinese characters or a picket fence	nonmotile	Mostly facultative anaerobic	Aerobically on Tinsdale agar	extracellular
Enterococcus	Enterococcus faecalis Enterococcus faecium	Positive	Round to ovoid (cocci)		pairs or chains	Non-motile	Facultative Anaerobic	6.5% NaCl, bile-esculin agar	extracellular
Escherichia	Escherichia coli	Negative	Short rods (bacilli)	Either		Normally motile	Facultative anaerobic	MacConkey agar	extracellular or intracellular
Francisella	Francisella tularensis	Negative	Small, pleomorphic coccobacillus	Yes		Non-motile	strictly aerobic	(rarely cultured)	Facultative intracellular
Haemophilus	Haemophilus influenzae	Negative	Ranging from small coccobacillus to long, slender filaments	Either		Non-motile		Chocolate agar with hemin and NAD⁺	extracellular
Helicobacter	Helicobacter pylori	Negative	Curved or spiral rods with multiple polar flagella			rapid, corkscrew motility	Microaerophile	Medium containing antibiotics against other fecal flora	extracellular
Legionella	Legionella pneumophila	Negative, stains poorly	Slender rod in nature, cocobacillary in laboratory. monotrichious flagella	No		motile	aerobic	Specialized medium	facultative intracellular
Leptospira	Leptospira interrogans Leptospira santarosai Leptospira weilii Leptospira noguchii	Negative, stains poorly	Long, very slender, flexible, spiral- or corkscrew-shaped rods			Highly motile	Strictly aerobic	Ellinghausen-McCullough-Johnson-Harris (EMJH) medium	extracellular
Listeria	Listeria monocytogenes	Positive, darkly	Slender, short rods		diplobacilli or short chains	Distinct tumbling motility in liquid medium	Facultative Anaerobic	enriched medium	intracellular
Mycobacterium	Mycobacterium leprae Mycobacterium tuberculosis Mycobacterium ulcerans	(none)	Long, slender rods	No		nonmotile	aerobic	M. tuberculosis: Lowenstein-Jensen agar M. leprae: (none)	extracellular
Mycoplasma	Mycoplasma pneumoniae	(none)	Plastic, pleomorphic	Yes	singly or in pairs		Mostly facultative anaerobic; M. pneumoniae strictly aerobic	M. pneumoniae: Eaton's agar	extracellular
Neisseria	Neisseria gonorrhoeae Neisseria meningitidis	Negative	Kidney bean-shaped	Either	diplococci	Non-motile	aerobic	Thayer-Martin agar	Gonococcus: facultative intracellular N. meningitidis: extracellular
Pseudomonas	Pseudomonas aeruginosa	Negative	rods	Yes		motile	Obligate aerobic	MacConkey agar	extracellular
Rickettsia	Rickettsia rickettsii	Negative, stains poorly	Small, rod-like coccobacillary	Slime/microcapsule		Non-motile	Aerobic	(rarely cultured)	Obligate intracellular
Salmonella	Salmonella typhi Salmonella typhimurium	Negative	Bacilli	Yes		Normally motile	Facultative anaerobic	MacConkey agar	Facultative intracellular
Shigella	Shigella sonnei	Negative	rods	Either		Non-motile	Facultative anaerobic	Hektoen agar	extracellular
Staphylococcus	Staphylococcus aureus Staphylococcus epidermidis Staphylococcus saprophyticus	Positive, darkly	Round cocci	Either	in bunches like grapes	Non-motile	Facultative anaerobic	enriched medium (broth and/or blood)	extracellular, facultative intracellular
Streptococcus	Streptococcus agalactiae Streptococcus pneumoniae Streptococcus pyogenes	Positive	ovoid to spherical	Either	pairs or chains	nonmotile	Facultative anaerobic	blood agar	extracellular
Treponema	Treponema pallidum	Negative, stains poorly	Long, slender, flexible, spiral- or corkscrew-shaped rods			highly motile	Aerobic	none	extracellular
Vibrio	Vibrio cholerae	Negative	Short, curved, rod-shaped with single polar flagellum	No		rapidly motile	Facultative anaerobic	blood- or MacConkey agar. Stimulated by NaCl	extracellular
Yersinia	Yersinia pestis Yersinia enterocolitica Yersinia pseudotuberculosis	Negative, bipolarly	Small rods	Yes		nonmotile	Facultative Anaerobe	MacConkey or CIN agar	Intracellular

List of pathogenic bacteria by clinical characteristics

This is a rather clinical description of the species presented in the previous section, containing the main examples of transmission, diseases, treatment, prevention and laboratory diagnosis, which all can differ substantially among the species of the same genus.

Species of human pathogenic bacteria^[17]
Species	Transmission	Diseases	Treatment	Prevention	laboratory diagnosis
Bacillus anthracis	Contact with sheep, goats and horses Inhalation or skin penetration through abrasions of spore-contaminated dust	Cutaneous anthrax Pulmonary anthrax Gastrointestinal anthrax	In early infection: Penicillin Doxycycline Ciprofloxacin	Anthrax vaccine autoclaving of instruments	Large, grayish, nonhemolytic colonies with irregular borders on blood agar Direct immunofluorescence
Bordetella pertussis	Contact with respiratory droplets expelled by infected human hosts.	Whooping cough Complications: Secondary bacterial pneumonia	Macrolide antibiotics Azithromycin Erythromycin Clarithromycin	Pertussis vaccine, DPT vaccine	Direct immunofluorescence PCR amplification
Borrelia burgdorferi Borrelia garinii Borrelia afzelii	Ixodes ticks reservoir in deer, mice and other rodents	Lyme disease	Early stages: cephalosporins amoxicillin doxycycline If arthritic symptoms have appeared: Longer courses of antibiotics	wearing clothing that limits skin exposure to ticks insect repellent	serology PCR
Brucella abortus Brucella canis Brucella melitensis Brucella suis	Direct contact with infected animal Oral, by ingestion of unpasteurized milk or milk products	Brucellosis	Combination therapy of: doxycycline streptomycin or gentamicin	-	Culture (difficult and time consuming) Agglutination serology
Campylobacter jejuni	Fecal/oral from animals (mammals and fowl) Contaminated meat (especially poultry) Contaminated water	Acute enteritis	Symptomatically by fluid and electrolyte replacement Ciprofloxacin in severe cases	No available vaccine Good hygiene Avoiding contaminated water Pasteurizing milk and milk products Cooking meat (especially poultry)	Finding campylobacter in feces
Chlamydia pneumoniae	Respiratory droplets	Community-acquired respiratory infection	Doxycycline Erythromycin	None	None for routine use
Chlamydia trachomatis	Sexual (NGU, LGV) Direct or contaminated surfaces and flies (trachoma) Passage through birth canal (ICN)	Nongonococcal urethritis (NGU) Lymphogranuloma venereum (LGV) Trachoma Inclusion conjunctivitis of the newborn (ICN)	Azithromycin Erythromycin Tetracyclines Doxycycline	No vaccine Erythromycin or silver nitrate in newborn's eyes Safe sex	Cellular cytoplasmic inclusions by immunofluorescence DNA hybridization ELISA for lipopolysaccharides
Chlamydophila psittaci	Inhalation of dust with secretions or feces from birds (e.g. parrots)	Psittacosis	Tetracycline Doxycycline Erythromycin (less efficient)	-	Rise in antibody titre Complement fixation indirect immunofluorescence
Clostridium botulinum	Spores from soil and aquatic sediments contaminating vegetables, meat and fish	Botulism	Antitoxin (horse antiserum)	Proper food preservation techniques	Mouse inoculation detects toxin from food, intestinal contents or serum Culture in standard aerobic culture
Clostridium difficile	Spores both indoors and outdoors Human flora, overgrowing when other flora is depleted	Pseudomembranous colitis	Discontinuing predisposing antibiotic Fluid and electrolyte replacement Vancomycin or metronidazole if severe	None	ELISA for Toxin ELISA for toxin A or B Endoscopy for pseudomembrane
Clostridium perfringens	Spores in soil Human flora in vagina and GI tract	Gas gangrene Acute food poisoning Anaerobic cellulitis	Gas gangrene: Debridement or amputation Hyperbaric medicine High doses of penicillin G or doxycycline Food poisoning: Self-limiting; Supportive care is sufficient	Appropriate food handling	Microscopically Blood agar culture, forming double-zone β-hemolysis Sugar fermentation Organic acid production
Clostridium tetani	Spores in soil infecting puncture wounds, severe burns or surgery	Tetanus	Tetanus immune globulin Horse antitoxin, alternatively Sedatives Muscle relaxants Mechanical ventilation	DPT vaccine	(difficult)
Corynebacterium diphtheriae	Respiratory droplets Part of human flora	Diphtheria	Horse serum antitoxin Erythromycin Penicillin	DPT vaccine	(no rapid) Culture on Tinsdale agar, followed by immunologic precipitin reaction
Enterococcus faecalis and Enterococcus faecium	Part of human flora, opportunistic or entering through GI tract or urinary system wounds	Nosocomial infections	Penicillin and an aminoglycoside Vancomycin Quinupristin and dalfopristin	No vaccine Hand washing and other nosocomial prevention	Culture in 6.5% NaCl Can hydrolyze esculin in presence of bile
Escherichia coli (generally)	Part of gut flora, spreading extraintestinally or proliferating in the GI tract	Urinary tract infections (UTI) Diarrhea Meningitis in infants	UTI: (resistance-tests are required first) Co-trimoxazole Fluoroquinolone, e.g. ciprofloxacin Meningitis: Cephalosporin (e.g. cefotaxime) and gentamicin combination Diarrhea: Antibiotics above shorten duration Electrolyte and fluid replacement	(no vaccine or preventive drug) Food and water preparation Cooking ground beef and pasteurizing milk against O157:H7 Hand washing and disinfection	Culture on MacConkey agar and study carbohydrate fermentation patterns: Lactose fermentation (most E. coli strains) Gas production in glucose fermentation Mannitol fermentation
Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC)	Fecal-oral through food and water Direct physical contact	Traveller's diarrhea
Enteropathogenic E. coli	Vertical, in utero or at birth	Diarrhea in infants
E. coli O157:H7	Reservoir in cattle	Hemorrhagic colitis Hemolytic-uremic syndrome
Francisella tularensis	vector-borne by arthropods Infected wild or domestic animals, birds or house pets	Tularemia	Streptomycin Gentamicin	Avoiding insect vectors Precautions when handling wild animals or animal products	(rarely cultured) Serology
Haemophilus influenzae	Droplet contact Human flora of e.g. upper respiratory tract	Bacterial meningitis Upper respiratory tract infections Pneumonia, bronchitis	Meningitis: (resistance-tests are required first) Third generation cephalosporin, e.g. cefotaxime or ceftriaxone Ampicillin and sulbactam combination	Hib vaccine to infants Rifampin prophylactically	Culture on chocolate agar with hemin (factor X) and NAD⁺ (factor V) Quellung reaction Immunofluorescence staining of capsule Detection of capsular antigen in CSF or other body fluids
Helicobacter pylori	Colonizing stomach Unclear person-to-person transmission	Peptic ulcer Risk factor for gastric carcinoma and gastric B-cell lymphoma	Tetracycline, metronidazole and bismuth salt combination	(No vaccine or preventive drug)	Microscopically Corkscrew movement Urease-positivity by radioactively labeled urea Serology by ELISA
Legionella pneumophila	Droplet contact, from e.g. cooling towers, humidifiers, air conditioners and water distribution systems	Legionnaire's Disease Pontiac fever	Macrolides, e.g. erythromycin or azithromycin Fluoroquinolones	(no vaccine or preventive drug) Heating water	Culture from respiratory secretions on buffered charcoal yeast extract enriched with L-cysteine, iron and α-ketoglutarate Serology, including direct immunofluorescence and radioimmunoassay for antigen in urine Hybridization to ribosomal RNA using DNA probe
Leptospira species	Food and water contaminated by urine from infected wild or domestic animals. Leptospira survives for weeks in fresh water and moist soil..	Leptospirosis	Penicillin G Tetracycline, e.g. doxycycline	Vaccine not widely used Doxycycline Prevention of exposure Rodent control	Serologic tests
Listeria monocytogenes	Dairy products, ground meats, poultry Vertical to newborn or fetus	Listeriosis	Ampicillin Co-trimoxazole	(no vaccine) Proper food preparation and handling	Isolation from e.g. blood and CSF Beta-hemolysis and catalase production on blood agar Microscopy for morphology and motility
Mycobacterium leprae	Prolonged human-human contact, e.g. through exudates from skin lesions to abrasion of other person	Leprosy (Hansen's disease)	Tuberculoid form: Dapsone and rifampin Lepromatous form: Clofazimine	BCG vaccine shows some effects	Tuberculoid form: Hard to isolate (diagnosis on clinical findings and histology of biopsies) Lepromatous form: Acid-fast staining from e.g. skin scrapings
Mycobacterium tuberculosis	Droplet contact	Tuberculosis	(difficult, see Tuberculosis treatment for more details) Standard "short" course: First 2 months, combination: Isoniazid Rifampicin Pyrazinamide Ethambutol Further 4 months, combination: Isoniazid Rifampicin	BCG vaccine Isoniazid	Ziehl-Neelsen stain showing acid-fast bacteria Hybridization probes for DNA, succeeded by PCR Culture on Lowenstein-Jensen agar
Mycoplasma pneumoniae	Human flora Droplet contact	Mycoplasma pneumonia	Doxycycline and erythromycin		(difficult to culture) Serologic tests, e.g. complement fixation test DNA probes on sputum specimens
Neisseria gonorrhoeae	Sexually transmitted vertical in birth	Gonorrhea Ophthalmia neonatorum Septic arthritis	Uncomplicated gonorrhea: Ceftriaxone Tetracycline, e.g. doxycycline if also chlamydia is suspected Spectinomycin for resistance or patient allergy to cephalosporin Ophthalmia neonatorum: Tetracycline or erythromycin into eyes	(No vaccine) Safe sex Tetracycline or erythromycin into eyes of newborn at risk	Gram-negative diplococci in neutrophils from urethral exudates Oxidase test on culture on Thayer-Martin agar under increased oxygen tension Fermentation of glucose but not maltose
Neisseria meningitidis	Respiratory droplets	Meningococcal disease including meningitis Waterhouse-Friderichsen syndrome	Penicillin G Cefotaxime Ceftriaxone	NmVac4-A/C/Y/W-135 vaccine Rifampin	Microscopy showing gram-negative diplococci, often with PMNs Culture on chocolate agar, giving positive oxidase test and fermentation of glucose and maltose in 5% CO₂ in air
Pseudomonas aeruginosa	Infects damaged tissues or people with reduced immunity.	Pseudomonas infection Localized to eye, ear, skin, urinary, respiratory or gastrointestinal tract or CNS, or systemic with bacteremia, secondary pneumonia bone and joint infections, endocarditis, skin, soft tissue or CNS infections.	Aminoglycoside and anti-pseudomonal β-lactam	(no vaccine) Topical silver sulfadiazine for burn wounds	Colourless colonies on MacConkey agar. Production of pyocyanine and fluorescein Positive oxidase test. No lactose fermentation.
Rickettsia rickettsii	Bite of infected wood or dog tick	Rocky mountain spotted fever	Doxycycline Chloramphenicol	(no preventive drug or approved vaccine) Vector control, such as clothing Prompt removal of attached ticks	Serology Immunofluorescence against Rickettsia antigens
Salmonella typhi	Human-human Fecal-oral through food or water	Typhoid fever type salmonellosis (dysentery, colitis)	Ceftriaxone Fluoroquinolones, e.g. ciprofloxacin	Ty21a and ViCPS vaccines Hygiene and food preparation	Isolation from blood, feces, bone marrow, urine or rose spots on skin Colorless, non-lactose fermenting colonies on MacConkey agar Serology for antibodies against O antigen
Salmonella typhimurium	Fecal-oral Food contaminated by fowl (e.g. eggs), pets and other animals	Salmonellosis with gastroenteritis and enterocolitis	Fluid and electrolyte replacement for severe diarrhea Antibiotics (in immunocompromised to prevent systemic spread)	(No vaccine or preventive drug) Proper sewage disposal Food preparation Good personal hygiene	Colourless colonies on MacConkey agar
Shigella sonnei	Fecal-oral Flies Contaminated food or water	Bacillary dysentery/Shigellosis	Ciprofloxacin or azithromycin	Protection of water and food supplies Vaccines are in trial stage^[18]	Culture on Hektoen agar or other media for intestinal pathogens
Staphylococcus aureus	Human flora on mucosae in e.g. anterior nares and vagina, entering through wound	Coagulase-positive staphylococcal infections: Localized skin infections Diffuse skin infection (Impetigo) Deep, localized infections Acute infective endocarditis Septicemia Necrotizing pneumonia Toxinoses Toxic shock syndrome Staphylococcal food poisoning	Incision and drainage of localized lesions Nafcillin and oxacillin Vancomycin for Methicillin-resistant (MRSA)	(no vaccine or preventive drug) Barrier precautions, washing hands and fomite disinfection in hospitals	Microscopy showing strongly positive Gram stained cells in grape-like clusters Positive Catalase test and coagulase test Culture on enriched media producing deep yellow, hemolytic colonies
Staphylococcus epidermidis	Human flora in skin and anterior nares	Infections of implanted prostheses, e.g. heart valves and catheters	Vancomycin	None	Microscopy showing strongly positive Gram stained cells in grape-like clusters Positive Catalase test but negative coagulase test Novobiocin-sensitivity (S. epidermidis) Novobiocin-resistance (S. saprophyticus) Culture on enriched media producing white, nonhemolytic colonies
Staphylococcus saprophyticus	Part of normal vaginal flora	Cystitis in women	Penicillin G	None
Streptococcus agalactiae	Human flora in vagina or urethral mucous membranes, rectum Vertical transmission by birth Sexual	Meningitis and septicemia in neonates Endometritis in postpartum women Opportunistic infections with septicemia and pneumonia	Penicillin G Ampicillin Aminoglycoside in case of lethal infection	None	Culture showing large colonies with β-hemolysis Negative catalase test Hydrolyzes sodium hippurate
Streptococcus pneumoniae	Respiratory droplets Often human flora in nasopharynx (spreading in immunocompromised)	Acute bacterial pneumonia & meningitis in adults Otitis media and sinusitis in children	Penicillin G Vancomycin for resistant strains	23-serotype vaccine for adults (PPV) Heptavalent conjugated vaccine for children (PCV)	Microscopy showing gram-positive, encapsulated lancet-shaped diplococci α-hemolysis on blood agar, bile-soluble, optochin-sensitive Positive Quellung reaction
Streptococcus pyogenes	Respiratory droplets Direct physical contact with impetigo lesions	Streptococcal pharyngitis Scarlet fever Rheumatic fever Impetigo and erysipelas Puerperal fever Necrotizing fasciitis	Penicillin G Macrolide, e.g. clarithromycin or azithromycin in penicillin allergy Drainage and debridement for Necrotizing fasciitis	No vaccine Rapid antibiotic treatment helps prevent rheumatic fever	Culture on sheep blood agar forming small, opalescent surrounded by large zone of β-hemolysis Serology for ASO Very bacitracin-sensitive
Treponema pallidum	Sexual	Syphilis Congenital syphilis	Penicillin G Doxycycline or tetracycline if penicillin allergy	No preventive drug or vaccine Safe sex Antibiotics to pregnant women at risk of transmitting congenital syphilis	Cannot be cultured or viewed in gram-stained smear Dark field microscopy Serology, including nontreponemal (VDRL, RPR) and treponemal tests (FTA-ABS, TPI, TPHA)
Vibrio cholerae	Contaminated water and food, especially raw seafood	Cholera	Fluid and electrolyte replacement e.g. doxycycline to shorten duration	Preventing fecal contamination of water supplies and food Adequate food preparation	Culture on blood or MacConkey agar, enhanced by TCBS Positive oxidase test
Yersinia pestis	Fleas from animals Ingestion of animal tissues Respiratory droplets	Plague: Bubonic plague Pneumonic plague	Streptomycin primarily Gentamicin Tetracyclin Supportive therapy for shock	Formalin-killed plague vaccine Minimize exposure to rodents and fleas	Gram-negative smear If pneumonic, culture from aspirate on MacConkey or blood agar

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↑ Institut Pasteur Press Office - Vaccine against shigellosis (bacillary dysentery):a promising clinical trial 15 January 2009. Retrieved on 27 February 2009

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Bacterial Pathogen Pronunciation by Neal R. Chamberlain, Ph.D at A.T. Still University
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