Friday, June 30, 2006

Providencia stuartii



Hi, my name is P. stuartii.
My cousin P. rettgeri and I are Gram negative enterobacteriaceae.
We are part of the Proteae tribe.

We cause infections in debilitated pateints and in hospitals.
We can urinary tract infections, especially around catheters.
We also love infecting burns.

Thursday, June 29, 2006

Morganella morganii



Hey there, my name is M. morganii.
I'm a Gram negative bacteria and I'm from the Enterobacteriaceae family.
I'm from the Proteae tribe.
I love hospitals, because there I can cause nosocomial infections.
I especially love debilitated patients and causing urinary tract infections.

I used to be called "Morgan's bacillus".

Sunday, June 18, 2006

Proteus mirabilis



Hi there. You can call me P. mirabilis.
I'm a Gram negative Enterobacteriaceae bacteria.
I'm from tribe 6, Proteae.
P. vulgaris and I can cause UTI in the community, but we are only the 2nd most common bacterial cause.

We were beaten by E. coli!

We can also cause nosocomial (hospital) wound infections, pneumonia and septicaemia.
P. vulgaris is better at that than I am.

We are both resistant to many types of antibiotics.


I'm named after a Greek god!
Proteus was the son of the sea god, Poseidon.

Serratia marcescens



Hi, I'm S. marcescens.
I'm a Gram negative bacteria in the Enterobacteriaceae family.
I'm part of the Klebsiella tribe.
My cousin S. liquefaciens and I are very much like the Enterobacters.
We hang out with them in hospitals and we also like to cause nosocomial infections.
Just like the Enterobacters, many antibiotics won't work on us.

Saturday, June 17, 2006

Enterobacter aerogenes



Hi, my name is E. aerogenes.
I'm a Gram negative bacteria from the Enterobacteriaceae family.
I'm from the Klebsiellae tribe.
Hospitals are my favourite place, where I live with my cousins E. cloacae and E. agglomerans.
We cause nosocomial (hospital) infections in debilitated patients.

We are also resistant to many antibiotics.

Klebsiella oxytoca




Hello. My name is K. oxytoca.
I'm Gram negative, in the Enterobacteriaceae family.
I'm part of the Klebsiellae tribe.

My cousin K. ozaenae and I love hospitals.
We cause urinary tract infections, respiratory tract infections and lots of surgical wound infections.

We are very resistant to many antibiotics because we hang around hospitals so much.

Klebsiella rhinoscleromatis



Hey, my name is K. rhinoscleromatis.
I'm a Gram negative bacteria, family enterobacteriaceae.
Like my cousin K. pneumoniae, I'm part of tribe 6, Klebsiellae.

I usually cause chronic granulomatous infection in the mucous membranes of the upper airway.
I cause Rhinoscleroma, a hardening of skin on the nose, mouth and pharynx.
I'm much more rare than than my cousin.

Klebsiella pneumoniae



Hi, my name is K. pneumoniae.
I'm Gram negative, in the Enterobacteriaceae family.
I'm part of the Klebsiellae tribe.

I cause a lobar pneumonia in the community.
Most of the time, you find me in people with alcoholism, diabetes or chronic obstructive airway disease.
My pneumonia is necrotising (cell destroying) and is severe.
If you have my pneumonia, your sputum will look like "currant jelly".

Citrobacter freundii



Hey there, I'm C. freundii.
I'm a Gram negative bacteria in the enterobacteriaceae family.
I'm part of tribe 4, the Citrobacter tribe.

My cousin C. diversus and I like to hang around hospitals.
We cause nosocomial (hospital) pneumonia
In infants, we like to cause pneumonia and sometimes meningitis.
In the community, we cause urinary tract infections.

Salmonella enteritidis


Hi, my name is S. enteritidis.
I'm part of the enterobacteriaceae, from tribe 3, Salmonellae.
I'm a Gram negative bacteria.

When I have typhoidal strains people just call me S. typhi.
My typhoidal strains cause typhoid fever.
It's a serious systemic disease you get when I invade through your intestines to you blood.
It can be fatal!

I have thousands of non-typhoidal strains as well.
It can infect you through food and water and cause self-limiting diarrhoea.

My cousins S. paratyphi causes paratyphoid fever (but I just think he's copying me)

One of my most famous carriers is Typhoid Mary.
She was a cook and was quarantined until the day she died.

Friday, June 16, 2006

Shigella dysenteriae


Hello.
My name is S. dysenteriae.
I'm a Gram negative bacteria in the Enterbacteriaceae family.
I'm also part of tribe I, Ecsherichiae.
My cousins S. flexneri, S. boydii, S. sonnei and I are all very close.
We all cause bacterial dysentery, a diarrhoea with blood and pus.
We can do this because we have Shiga toxin.
We can be transmitted on clothes and furniture.

I was all around in world war II and I killed King

Henry V!

Escherichia coli



Hey, my name is E. coli.
I'm a Gram negative bacteria and I'm part of the enterbacteriaceae family.
In my family I am part of tribe I, Escherichieae.
My whole family is oxidase negative.
I live in the bowels.

My uropathic strains are the most common cause of urinary tract infection. For teh win!
Some of my strains have virulence factors, so I can cause diarrhoea.
The diarrhoea can watery or bloody, depending on which strain you have.

Thursday, June 08, 2006

Aeromonas hydrophilia



I'm A. hydrophilia.
You've met my friends the Vibrios already.
We're all Gram negative, oxidase positive fermenters and we all like to hang out in water.
I like fresh water and sewage.
When I get into water wounds I can cause cellulitis
Sometimes I can cause diarrhoea.

Vibrio vulnificus


Hi there, I'm V. vulnificus.
I'm a Gram negative, oxidase positive fermenter bacteria.
I'm the most virulent of the non-cholera Vibrios.
Like my cousins, I live in the ocean.
I can get into you on contaminated seafood, where I cross from your gut to your blood stream.
Then I can cause septicaemia and necrotic ulcers under the skin, with 50% mortality!
Don't worry though, that's only if you are immunocompromised or have liver disease.

If your immune system if healthy, I can still get into your marine wounds.
I cause severe cellulitis and skin necrosis.

Wednesday, June 07, 2006

Vibrio parahaemolyticus


Hey there!
Call me V. parahaemolyticus, part of the Vibrio genus.
I'm a Gram negative, oxidase positive fermenter bacteria.
I live in salt water and you can get me by eating contaminated seafood.

I cause gastroenteritis with watery diarrhoea, cramps and fever.
Most of the time my infection is self-limiting.

I even appear in a comic!!

Vibrio alginolyticus


My name is V. alginolyticus.
Just like my cousin V.c, I'm a Gram negative, oxidase positive fermenting bacteria.
I don't have any cholera toxin though.

Some of my cousins and I live in the water, especially the ocean.
I get into you through cuts you get while swimming.
I can cause skin and tissue infection of your marine wounds.

We just love surfers, so if you love the water, come and take me home.

Tuesday, June 06, 2006

Vibro Cholerae


Hi, I'm V. cholerae.
I'm a Gram negative, oxidase positive fermenter bacteria.
Many of my strains cause cholera, a severe diarrhoeal illness.
I can be epidemic or pandemic and I love the developing world.
I have a high fatality in malnourished populations, where people get very dehydrated.

To give you severe diarrhoea, my strains need to make the cholera toxin.
I have lots of strains!
Most of my strains that cause outbreaks are 'type-01' strains, but there are also 139 'non-type-01' strains.
You can classify me into Inaba, Ogawa and Hikojima serotypes if you want. Or you could classify me into classical and El Tor biotypes (you don't see my El Tor much anymore though).


I hope you pick me!

Welcome

Welcome to Adopt A Microbe.
Inspired by my brother and sister's suggestions, here at AAM you can take home a snuggly little bacteria, virus or parasite of your own, to love and care for.

I'll be starting with a few acteria, then maybe some viruses.

Watch this space, there'll be lots more coming.