Tetanus or Lockjaw

Clostridia: rod-shaped, obligate anaerobes, some form endospores, produce potent toxins that cause a variety of diseases in humans. Important in medicine & industry (Botox & oral plaque). Examples of clostridia include C. tetani (cause tetanus), C. perfringens ( causes gangrene), C. botulinum ( causes botulism) and C. difficle (severe diarrhea). Microbes related to Clostridium include: Epulopiscium - a giant bacterium that can be seen without a microscope; Some clostridia are sulfate-reducing microbes – they produce H2S from elemental sulfur during anaerobic respiration; and Selenomonas – a Vibrio-shaped bacteria, live as part of the biofilm (plaque) on teeth of warm-blooded animals. Selenomonas is unusual because even though it has a typical gram-positive RNA sequence, it has a negative Gram reaction – stains pink.

The bacterium that causes this disease is the bacterium Clostridium tetani, which is a spore-forming, gram-positive bacillus that is found in higher concentrations in animal manure and soil (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). The most common things that this disease is transmitted through are rusty and dirty nails, knives, tools, animal bites, and wooden splinters (Mayo Clinic). When the bacteria enters an open wound, tiny spores of the bacteria can create a powerful toxin that is called tetanospasmin, which damages your motor neurons; nerves that control your muscles. The result of this toxin existing in your motor neurons can cause muscle stiffness and spasms, which both happen to be two major signs of having the tetanus disease (Mayo Clinic). Women have a higher risk at getting the infection when they are giving birth or having an abortion if the tool that is being used happens to be contaminated. When a baby is born, it is at a higher risk if the tool is dirty that is being used to cut the umbilical cord (World Health

Pertussis or whooping cough affects the respiratory system. It is a contagious infection of the respiratory tract. Pertussis is caused by a type of bacteria called Bordetella pertussis. The disease is highly contagious. Infected people are most contagious up to about 2 weeks after the cough begins. The bacteria spread easily through the air from person to person through tiny drops of fluid from an infected person's nose or mouth. When an infected person sneezes or coughs, others can become infected when they inhale the drops or get the drops on their hands and then touch their mouths or noses. These bacteria attach to the cilia that line part of the upper respiratory system. The bacteria release toxins which damage the cilia

Microbes have several virulence factors to help evade the immune response and reproduce such as capsules. These capsules or polysaccharide matrixes aid survival through antigenic masking that protects the microbe against immune barriers and allows them to reproduce and infect a susceptible host. Many microorganisms including Clostridium botulinum also produce heat resistant endospores that are difficult to eradicate and aid transmission; Clostridium botulinum is able to enter the food chain and produce a botulinum toxin to create a common – source epidemic. Other microbes such as Bacillus anthracis can produce spores that are hard to eradicate and are used for air – borne transmission. Some pathogenic organisms including Staphylococcus aureus are also developing an innate resistance to antibiotic treatment. This prolongs the treatment and gives the microbe additional time to infect more susceptible hosts and establish

1. The term tetanus refers to You correctly answered: b. sustained muscle tension due to very frequent stimuli. 2. Which of the following distinguishes a state of unfused tetanus from a state of complete (fused) tetanus? You correctly answered: d. Muscle tension increases and decreases between different values for an unfused tetanus. 3. When the stimulus frequency reaches a value beyond which no further increases in force are generated by the muscle, the muscle has reached its You correctly answered: a. maximal tetanic tension.

Tetanus is an infection caused by the Clostridium tetani bacteria, also written C. tetani. The C. tatani bacterium is gram-positive and shaped like a slender rod, once it has developed a terminal spore it may resemble a drumstick (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2015). The actual bacteria are heat sensitive and cannot survive when there is oxygen present, the spores on the other hand are very heat resistant and can survive the presence of oxygen (CDC, 2015). Cases of tetanus continue to shrink in the United States and other developed countries thanks to the availability of the tetanus vaccination; however, in underdeveloped countries tetanus is still a major problem. Tetanus presents with various visible signs and symptoms which may vary based on the type of tetanus. The type of tetanus will also determine the methods used to treat the infection.

Shane Ellison, a man who refuses to vaccinate his children did some further research on this. He was reading the vaccine package insert for DPT. “A review by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) found evidence for a casual relation between tetanus toxoid and both Brachial Neuritis and Guillain-Barre syndrome [pain and loss of nerve and motor function]” (Ellison). Now coming from the World Health Organization, they claim that however the above information could be true, it is very limited and has only been heard of a handful of times and really could not be traced back to that particular item causing it (Five Important Reasons). We are all at risk for “biological nasties” (Ellison). I think about my sister who used to be an addict and now refuses to take pills and medicates herself when herbs and teas. I also think about the health nuts who just do not want to take medication and get well over time naturally. In reality, everyone will get each other sick overtime, especially if we are choosing not to take our medication. They are the ones who are putting everybody else at risk. Shane Ellison thinks one reason to not vaccinate our children is because they should build immunity naturally (Ellison). As soon as the symptoms start, we need to take the medicine, and we need to do so for our health, and the safety of children and others (Dell’Antonia). Bruce Beutles and Jules Hoffman discovered that we are hard-wired with

There are several virulence factors associated with the initial infection, including: filamentous hemagglutinin (FHA) and the pertussis toxin. Bordetella pertussis colonizes in the host via filamentous hemagglutinin (FHA) and the pertussis toxin. FHA is a large protein that forms filamentous structures on the cell surface and also binds to galactose residues on the surface of the trachea’s ciliated epithelial cells. The pertussis toxin is a protein that has five subunits: S1, S2, S3, S4, and S5, is also involved in adherence to the tracheal epithelium. Many of these components are also known as adhesions, which bind the bacteria to the host cell. While others utilize different receptors and bind to a glycolipid found specifically on the tracheal epithelium. Bordetella pertussis also produces its own toxins, such as invasive adenylate cyclase, which is a single polypeptide that enters epithelial cells, locally reduces phagocytic activity, and lyses red blood cells, and initiates infection. Lethal toxin, formerly called dermonecrotic toxin, is a protein that causes inflammation where Bordetella pertussis colonizes. Tracheal toxin, a peptidoglycan fragment, destroys ciliated cells, stimulates the release of interleukin-1, and causes fever. Once infected, the individual receives antibiotics, usually erythromycin. In order to have more control of this disease, there needs

After colonization, the organism releases two protein exotoxins into the colonic lumen. Approximately 75% of C difficile strains produce two toxins, A and B, that are responsible for causing diarrhea and colitis. Toxin A is an enterotoxin responsible for the colitis that allows Toxin B,

A disease caused by the toxin produced by Clostridium tetanus is known as Tetanus. Tetanus is a rare disease in the United States that is contracted through an opening of the body. Currently there is no treatment available to combat the infection. Per the JABFM Journal Of The American Board Of Family Medicine, published on May 1, 2001, Volume 14, no. 3, pages 223- 224 a case study was conducted investigating the tetanus disease. The title of the article is Tetanus: A Case Study by Peter J. Raia. MS, MD. The purpose of this project is to examine the research and determine a conclusion based on the information provided.

The A component of the of type III exotoxins is also known as the “activity subunit” and the B component is the “binding subunit”. As the name suggested, the B components functions in allowing the toxins to bind to the specific receptors that locate on the surfaces of the host cells. Once the toxins have bind to the host cell, it gets uptake into the host cell through endocytosis. Within the host cell, the toxin gets cleave, releasing the A component of the toxin into the cytoplasm and the B component back into the extracellular matrix. When the A component is freed from the toxin, it can begin to cause toxic effect to the cell. The most common toxic effect is that the A component acts as an enzyme that can carry out reactions called ADP-ribosylation.

Dieses like Tetanus are one of the challenges that sheep and goat producers have. This disease is usually related to docking and castrating by elastrator bands, though any wound can harbor the tetanus organism. Treatment consists of the tetanus anti-serum and antibiotics. It is usually unrewarding. Tetanus can be prevented by vaccinating pregnant ewes 30 days before lambing. If pregnant ewes were not vaccinated for tetanus, the tetanus anti-toxin can be administered to lambs at the time of docking and/or castrating. The tetanus anti-toxin provides immediate short-term immunity and can be used at the time of docking and castrating to prevent disease outbreaks. Footrot is one of the most economically devastating diseases in the sheep industry.

Tetanus is an acute, potentially fatal disease that is characterized by generalized increased rigidity and convulsive spasms of skeletal muscles. The symptoms are caused by tetanospasmin, a neurotoxin produced by Clostridium tetani, an anaerobic bacillus, whose spores survive in soil and cause infection by contaminating wounds (Hassel, 2013). The spores enter the body through breaks in the skin, and germinate under low-oxygen conditions. Puncture wounds and wounds with a significant amount of tissue injury are more likely to promote germination. The toxin produced by the bacteria are absorbed into the bloodstream, eventually reaching the nervous system, causing painful and often violent muscular contractions. The disease is commonly termed lockjaw because the muscle stiffness usually first involves the jaw and neck, and later becomes generalized. Tetanus is a noncommunicable disease, meaning it is not transmitted from one person to another (Tiwari, 2011).

Toxic Shock Syndrome is a rare, potentially life-threatening, syndrome that was initially discovered and diagnosed in the 1970s. “It is characterized by high fever, rash, hypotension, multi organ failure (involving at least 3 or more organ systems), and desquamation of the skin, typically of the palms of the hands and soles of the feet, 1-2 weeks after the onset of acute illness. The clinical syndrome can also include severe myalgia, vomiting, diarrhea, headache, and nonfocal neurologic abnormalities. (Venkataraman, 2014) ” Toxic Shock syndrome can also lead to surgical debridement and amputation (Willey, 2014).” At time of discovery, toxic shock syndrome was more prevalent amongst women, particularly those who used tampons or intrauterine

Clostridium tetani is a gram positive obligate anaerobe. This bacterium could be cultured in a blood agar medium at 35 °C for 24 hours. The bacteria will appear as a thin transparent film of swarming growth. The blood in the agar medium will also appear to be hemolyzed. This bacterium could also be viewed under a bright-field microscope after undergoing Gram staining. When viewed under the light microscope with Gram staining the bacteria will appear purple and have a bacillus shape with spores on the end that makes them look like a drumstick or tennis racket. Typical diagnosis of tetanus involves a physical exam, immunization history, and signs and symptoms because there are no hospital lab tests that can confirm tetanus. Doctors will look