Group B Streptococcus Agalactiae

Humans are a natural reservoir for S. aureus, and asymptomatic colonization is far more common than infection. Young children tend to have higher colonization rates, probably because of their frequent contact with respiratory secretions.

This experiment was conducted to find the genus and species of an unknown bacteria prescribed by the lab teacher, which was unknown bacteria GA3 in my case. Identification of unknown bacteria techniques are used on an every day basis to figure out what type of bacteria it is and to find the best method of how to treat a patient with this bacteria (1). All five “I’s” of Microbiology were used in the testing for the unknown culture. Inoculation was used several times to put the unknown culture into agar plates or into biochemical test tubes. After Inoculation of these tubes or plates, they always were placed into the incubator for further growth and development. Isolation was used to make sure we got the correct bacteria we were testing for. After each further isolation, we gram stained the culture and inspected the culture under a microscope to further help in the identification process of the unknown bacteria. Multiple tests were done on the unknown culture to make sure we were confident in what kind of bacteria the unknown was.

The Staphylococcus aureus bacteria belongs to the Staphylococcaceae family. It is small, round shaped, and non-motile. Staphylococcus aureus stains gram positive and can often be found in small clusters (Mandal, 2010). It often forms chains and is a large contributor of soft tissue infections. It is of a yellow color, hence the name ?aureus? which comes from the Latin term ?aurum? for gold (Orenstein, n.d.). Staphylococcus aureus is found in a few spots on the human body, such as the nasal passage, the skin, the oral cavity, and even the gastrointestinal tract. Staphylococci and Streptococci are two different strands of the bacteria and are very hard to distinguish from one another. In order to tell the difference between them, without a microscope, a catalase test needs to be performed. The test is undergone by adding 3% hydrogen peroxide to both samples. Since Staphylococci are catalase positive, meaning they produce catalase, they will produce O? while the Streptococci will not because Streptococci are catalase negative (Todar, n.d.).

faecalis has a low pathogenicity (scilo), it is a virulent, opportunistic pathogen to be reckoned with and is thought of as a super-bug. This is not only due to its ability to resist a variety of antibiotics, but also its ability to travel and employ biofilm formations. It can grow and adapt in many different environments. It can thrive in a wide range of temperatures and has disregard whether salt or oxygen are present, or whether the pH is basic or acidic. Its resilience on inanimate objects makes it a perfect candidate for transmission to occur within the hospital environment from hand to instrument, but it can also be spread via hand-to-hand contact and from food contamination (Public Health Agency of

What are these other serious illnesses that are caused by group A Streptococcus? What is group A Streptococcus? Group A streptococci are bacteria commonly found in the throat and on the skin. The vast majority of GAS infections are relatively mild illnesses, such as strep throat and impetigo. Occasionally, however, these bacteria can cause much more severe and even life threatening diseases such as necrotizing fasciitis (occasionally described as "the flesh-eating bacteria") and streptococcal toxic shock syndrome (STSS). In addition, people may carry group A streptococci in the throat or on the skin and have no symptoms of disease.

Streptococcus pyogenes, also known as Group A streptococcus (GAS), is a β-hemolytic, Gram-positive bacterium that most commonly causes respiratory disease, including pharyngitis or tonsillitis, as well as skin infections such as impetigo and cellulitis. The organism is transmitted via respiratory droplets or by contact with fomites, and commonly infects young children. In addition to the common clinical presentations associated with S. pyogenes, some individuals develop the postinfectious sequelae of rheumatic fever and glomerulonephritis. Due to the severity of these medical consequences, prophylactic antibiotic use is often recommended for any patients with otherwise mild S. pyogenes infections (21).

Streptococcus Pyogenes is a very diverse bacteria with effects ranging from nothing or a mild sore throat, to flesh eating disease, causing death in 40-60% of patients. The major and most common illnesses associated with this bacteria

Group A. Streptococcus is a bacterium that causes many different types of infections. It is believed that at least 5-15% percent of the population are carriers of Group A Strep. These carriers tend to carry the bacteria on their skin or in their throats and usually remain asymptomatic.

Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) is a spherical bacteria which is known to produce a cytotoxin called Panton-Valentine leucocidin (PLV) which destroys leukocytes, and kills tissue (Lina et al., 1999). Five percent of strains of Staphylococcus are known to produce the disease-causing toxin (Lina et al., 1999), but though the amount of PLV-producing strains is somewhat small, the strains which produce PLV are apparently resistant to vancomycin, an antibiotic commonly used to treat staph infections (CDC, 2002). The first recorded case of S. aureus resistance to vancomycin was a reduction in sensitivity to the antibiotic observed in Japan, and has since spread to the United States (CDC, 2002). The most common source of infection of these drug-resistant bacteria are actually in hospitals, wherein the patients are exposed to the bacteria and subsequently infected (CDC, 2002).

The lab test that would be performed based on Maria history at 37 weeks, will be a blood test done for Group B strep. This is important, because if the women are positive for Group B Strep a antibiotic will need to be administer intravenously , and if not given can cause effects with the fetal. Group B Strep can cause the baby to be born premature.

Often the modes of transmission of this organism are through surgical procedures or venous or urethral catheter insertions, which result in the infection of Enterobacter aerogenes. 2 (www.whatarebacteria.com) It is known to

aureus. There are many strains that contains various virulence factors. Two important virulence factors that were detailed in research performed by Fitzgerald et al. [6] and Mehrotra et al. [7] were Toxic Shock Syndrome Toxin-1 (TSST-1) and Staphylococcal Enterotoxin C (SEC). Both toxins have been detected in the DNA of some S. aureus strains. Should these strains be transmitted to infants they are most definitely a possible cause of death if actively encoded by the bacteria. These toxins are known to be quick and activate immune response to such a high degree that the patient succumbs to the infection. Various hospital studies have been performed to study transmission by objects, such as that by Grundmannn et al. [8]. These are significant to this study since infants often put items in their mouth that are not always clean and safe for them to contact. The study by Grundmannn et al. [8] also indicated that hospital beds were contaminated with S. aureus which is significant to beds within households that infants may lay in. Introducing rabbit models to contaminated objects such as water bottle tips and bedding will elucidate the transmission routes these items can provide to infants. In SIDS cases, breast fed infants, observed by Highet et al. [9], tested higher for S. aureus than healthy infants did and slightly higher than non-breastfed SIDS cases. In In Aim 1 of this research we plan to elucidate the transmission

N. meningitides bacterium responsible for outbreaks in densely populated areas such as childcare centers, boarding schools, or college living areas (Smeltzer, Bare, Hinkle, & Cheever, 2010). These outbreaks are most common in winter and spring months when risk factors like upper respiratory infections are more likely (Smeltzer, Bare, Hinkle, & Cheever, 2010). Immunosuppression must be present for this pathogen to invade. Other risk factors for meningitis are otitis media (middle ear infection), mastoiditis (mastoid bone infection) (Smeltzer, Bare, Hinkle, & Cheever, 2010), systemic sepsis, sinusitis (sinus infection), basilar skull fractures, and the very young and the very old (Porth & Matfin, 2009).

Also, contraction is very possible through the skin via abrasions both small and large. This type of infection would be contracted from exposure to other people harboring the bacteria, bacteria in the air, or bacteria on the injured person. Being infected this way can rarely result in necrotizing fasciitis. It is also very possible, albeit very rare, that Streptococcus pyogenes can be transmitted through food, most notably milk and its products. This form of infection is usually caused by improper or lack of pasteurization of the milk. The bacteria that are responsible hardly ever come from an outside source, and are usually present within the cow when infected milk is produced. However, these two other methods of transmission are far less likely than the usual human-to-human respiratory infections. (6,2,1)

Streptococcus pneumoniae is found worldwide. The common host is the human body, in which it often does not cause disease but at other times it can cause diseses in particular, pneumonia. It also causes otitis media, bacteremia, meningitis, peritonitis, and sinusitis. The route by which this organism is spread is from human to human in the form of aerosol droplets. When inside the host the organism’s primary site of pneumococcal colonization is the nasopharynx. From this site it can aspire to the lungs, eventually spread to the blood and traverse the blood-brain barrier to the meninges, once inside the blood it can cause infections throughout the body. Symptoms of the disease include sudden