Spirochetes Infection – PST05103 Pharmaceutical Microbiology

NTA Level 5 • Semester 1 • PST05103

Spirochetes Infection

Pharmaceutical Microbiology • Source Session/Topic 23
Full source-text version: all educational wording from the extracted learning source is retained; only presenter/tutor metadata and web-layout noise are removed, while formatting is improved for readability.

Session 23: Spirochetes Infection

Total Session Time: 60 minutes

Pre-requisites

• Human anatomy and physiology

Students Learning Tasks

By the end of this session students are expected to be able to:

• Describe common bacterial diseases (causative agents, transmission,

signs and symptoms)

• Describe treatment, prevention and control of common bacterial

diseases

Resources Needed:

• Flip charts, marker pens, and masking tape
• Black/white board and chalk/whiteboard markers

SESSION OVERVIEW

|Step |Time |Activity/ |Content |

| | |Method | |

|1 |5 minutes |Presentation |Introduction, Learning Tasks |

|2 | 10 minutes|Presentation |Characteristics of Spirochetes |

|3 |5 minutes |Presentation |Cause and Transmission of Syphilis|

|4 | |Small group |Signs and Symptoms of Syphilis |

| |20 minutes |discussion/ | |

| | |Presentation | |

|5 |10 minutes |Presentation |Treatment, Prevention and Control |

| | | |of Syphilis |

|6 |5 minutes |Presentation |Key Points |

| 7|5 minutes |Presentation |Evaluation |

SESSION CONTENTS

STEP 1: Presentation of Session Title and Learning Tasks (5 minutes)

READ or ASK students to read the learning tasks and clarify

ASK students if they have any questions before continuing

STEP 2: Characteristics of Spirochetes (10 minutes)

• Spirochetes are a large, heterogeneous group of spiral, motile

bacteria

• One family (Spirochaetaceae) of the order Spirochaetales consists of

two genera whose members are human pathogens, Borrelia and Treponema

• Spirochetes are long, slender, helically coiled, spiral, or corkscrew-

shaped bacilli that are motile by endofagella or internal flagella

• Spirochaetes are distinguished from other bacterial phyla by the

location of their flagella (sometimes called axial filaments or

endofagella or internal flagella) which run lengthwise between the

bacterial inner membrane and outer membrane in periplasmic space

• Spirochetes are susceptible to drying and chemicals

o They are readily killed in dry conditions and various chemical

agents including penicillins.

• The spirochetes are so thin that they are not readily seen unless

immunofluorescent stain or dark-field illumination is used

• Treponema pallidum is a spirochete bacterium with subspecies that

cause treponemal diseases such as syphilis, bejel, pinta, and yaws.

STEP 3: Cause and Transmission of Syphilis (5 minutes)

• Syphilis is a sexually transmitted spirachetal infection characterized

by one or more skin lesions (chancres) at the site where the

spirochete penetrated

• Syphilis is caused by the bacterium Treponema pallidum subspecies

pallidum

• Syphilis is transmitted through sexual intercourse with an infected

person, close contact with active lesions, blood transfusion and

passage to placenta in pregnancy (congenital syphilis)

STEP 4: Signs and Symptoms of Bacillus Food Poisoning (20 minutes)

|Activity: Small Group Discussion (10 minutes) |

| |

|DIVIDE students into small manageable groups |

| |

|ASK students to discuss on the following question |

|What are the clinical manifestations of syphilis? |

| |

|ALLOW students to discuss for 15 minutes |

| |

|ALLOW few groups to present and the rest to add points not |

|mentioned |

| |

|CLARIFY and SUMMARIZE by using the contents below |

• Incubation period is 3 to 90 days
• Early or primary syphilis

o General lymphadenopathy

▪ Lymph node enlarges and become rubbery, painless, discrete

and mobile

o One or more skin lesion

▪ A papule develops at site of entry and breaks down to form an

ulcer with clean base “a chancre”

o This primary lesion heals spontaneously and later reappear

• Secondary syphilis

o Signs of disseminated disease appear, with prominent skin lesions

dispersed over the entire body surface.

▪ Rash on trunc and promal extremeties spreading to involve

palms and soles

▪ Fever, malaise, headache

o Spontaneous remission may occur after the primary or secondary

stages or the disease may progress to the late phase (tertiary

syphilis)

• Tertiary syphilis

o Manifest years after chancres have healed

o Virtually all tissues may be involved

▪ Cardiovascular syphilis, neurosyphilis
• Latent syphilis shows no symptoms
• Congenital syphilis

o In utero infections can lead to serious fetal disease, resulting

in latent infections, multiorgan malformations, or death of the

fetus

o Most infected infants are born without clinical evidence of the

disease, but rhinitis then develops and is followed by a

widespread desquamating maculopapular rash

o Teeth and bone malformation, blindness, deafness, and

cardiovascular syphilis are common in untreated infants who

survive the initial phase of disease

STEP 5: Treatment, Prevention and Control of Syphilis (10 minutes)

• Treatment options

o Antibiotics

▪ Penicillins
• Benzathine Penicilli
• Benzyl penicillin
▪ Macrolides
• Azithromycin
▪ Tetracyclines
• Doxycycline
• Preventive and control measures

o Early diagnosis and treatment

o Safe sex practices e.g. use of condoms

o Detection and treatment of pregnant

STEP 6: Key Points (5 minutes)

• Spirochetes are a large, heterogeneous group of spiral, bacteria that

move by endogeonous flagella

• Treponema pallidum is a spirochete bacterium with subspecies that

cause treponemal diseases such as syphilis, bejel, pinta, and yaws.

• Treponema pallidum subspecies pallidum causes syphilis in humans.
• Syphilis is a sexually transmitted infection which is characterized by

painless chancre and progression to chronic disease

• Syphilis is treated by antibiotics such as penicillins and prevented

by safe sex practices and early diagnosis and treatment of patient to

prevent progression of the disease.

STEP 7: Evaluation (5 minutes)

• What is a chancre?
• How is syphilis transmitted?
• What are the medicines used for treatment of syphilis?

References

Hugo and Russell (2011), Pharmaceutical Microbiology 8th Edition, Willey-

Blackwel publications

Karen C. Carroll et al (2013); Jawetz, Melnick and Adelberg’s Medical

Microbiology 26th Ed. McGraw Hill Co. Inc.

Greenwood et al (2012); Medical Microbiology, 18th edition Churchill

Livingstone

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