Thursday, November 30, 2006

Streptococcus bovis


Hi, I'm S. bovis.
I'm a Gram Positive coccus and in the D Lancefield group.
However, I only look like a B heamolytic strep in a test made from rabbit blood.
On another test, made from sheep blood, I am an A heamolytic strep.

I cause endocarditis and get into the blood to cause bacteraemia.

I am also found in alot of places where colon cancer is found.
So if you have me, you should always check for colon cancer.


Sunday, November 26, 2006

Streptococcus equi


Hello.
I'm S. equi.
I'm a Gram Positive coccus .
I'm a B heamolytic strep in the C Lancefield group.

I am mostly found in horses.
I infects their airways and lymph nodes.
If I do get into people, I can cause pharyngitis (sore throat) and tonsillitis.

Friday, November 24, 2006

Streptococcus agalactiae


Hi!
My name is S. agalactiae.
I'm a Gram Positive coccus and a B heamolytic strep.
I'm part of the B Lancefield group.

I can get into women's genitalia.
In pregnant women, I cause premature labour, urinary tract infections and endometriosis, plus I get into the mother's blood.

But in the baby I am even more troublesome!
I cause pneumonia, meningitis, shock and bacteraemia (in the blood).


Wednesday, November 22, 2006

Streptococcus pyogenes



Hello there.
My name is S. pyogenes.
I'm a Gram Positive coccus.
I'm whats known as a 'B heamolytic' strep, part of the Lancefield A group.

I live in the nose and mouth.
I am the number cause of pharyngitis - 'strep throat'.
I have many complications, including abscesses, otitis media and sinusitis.
I can also cause cellulitis, rashes, pyoderma (yellow pustules), gangrene, rheumatic fever and toxic shock.


Monday, November 20, 2006

Staphylococcus caprae



Hi, my name is S. caprae.
I'm a Gram Positive, coagulase negative coccus.
live on healthy human skin.
I can also cause bone and joint infections when I get into cuts and wounds.
I can cause bacteraemia if I get into your blood.

My name originally name from the word 'goat', thats where scientists first found me.

Saturday, November 18, 2006

Staphylococcus epidermidis


Hi, I'm S. epidermidis.
I'm a coagulase negative, Gram Positive coccus.
I'm found in normal human skin

When I infect skin I
make it red and oozy.
I infect prosthetics, pins, plates, screws and anything in your body made of metal.
I cause pain, redness, swelling and tissue erosion which loosens the prosthesis.
I get into your head through shunts into your brain and give you meningitis.

I make a 'slime' layer that is very hard to get off, so you have to remove all the metal.

Thursday, November 16, 2006

Staphylococcus saprophyticus



Hello.
My name is S. saprophyticus.
I'm a Gram Positive cocci like my cousin S. aureus.
But I'm a little different to him, I'm called a "coagulase negative" staph, which means I react differently then him in a special test.

I get into women's bladders and urinary tracts.
I am the most common Gram Positive cause of urinary tract infection.
I'm very popular, especially in sexually active young women.

Wednesday, November 15, 2006

Staphylococcus aureus


Hello there!
You can call me S. aureus.
I am a Gram Positive cocci (round) bacteria.
I am also known as 'golden staph' because I form little yellow spots when I'm grown in a lab.

Sometimes I can be a special type called "Methicillin resistant S. aureus" (or MRSA) and it is VERY VERY hard to get rid of.
I live naturally in the noses and throats of many people.

I cause pus filled infections anywhere I can get into.
Specifically, I love skin, breasts, surgery or wounds, heart valves (endocarditis) and blood.

I am the most common cause of joint and bone infections.
I can also cause Staphylococcal scalded skin syndrome or Staphylococcal toxic shock syndrome.

Saturday, November 11, 2006

Neisseria meningitidis


Hello, my name is N. meningitidis.
You can call me the meningococcus.
I am a Gram Negative cocci (round) bacteria.
I'm carried in the noses and mouths of 5-10% of people, but I don't make them sick.
They can give me to other people by kissing and sharing drinks.

I have 13 different 'serogroups' - my most deadly groups are A, B, C and Y.
These can quickly kill healthy people.

Most of the time, I cause meningitis and a special purple rash made of bleeding in the skin.
I can also infect your blood.

Friday, November 10, 2006

Neisseria gonorrhoeae


Hello hello.
I'm N. gonorrhoeae.
I'm Gram Negative bacteria, but I'm not a rod.
I'm a coccus, which is a round bacteria, or sometimes two stuck together.
Most people call me 'Gonococcus'.

I am spread by sexual contact and I cause the STD called gonorrhoea.
I can give you urethrtis, pharyngitis and cervicitis - which can lead to infertility.
If I get into your blood I cause fever, skin lesions, arthritis and joint pain.
I can get into the eyes of infants when they're born, if their mother is infected with me.

Thursday, November 09, 2006

Bartonella quintana



Hi, you can call me B. quintana.
I'm a Gram Negative bacteria.

I travel from person to person on body lice.
The lice spread me around places where there are lots of people close together without proper hygeine.

When I get into you, I cause trench fever.
There were many lice (and me!) in World War I and World War II.
I cause fever, chills, headache, rash and vertigo (dizziness).
I also give you a swollen liver, plus joint and muscle pain.

Tuesday, November 07, 2006

Bartonella Henselae



Hey, I'm B. henselae.
I'm a Gram Negative bacteria.
You can find me on cats and I get into you through scratches, licks or bites.
I cause Cat Scratch Disease.
I infection your lymph nodes, t
hen make you tired and feverish for a few months.
I usually go away on my own after that.

In people whose body defences don't work properly (like AIDS), I cause quite a few more illnesses.
I cause red or purple spots on the skin called 'bacillary angiomatosis'.
I can also cause 'peliosis', little bleeds under the skin or inside you.

Monday, November 06, 2006

Brucella melitensis


Hi!
My name is B. melitensis.
I'm a Gram Negative bacteria.
I am quite small.
I live in sheep and goats, but some of my cousins live in cows, pigs and dogs.

I cause a zoonotic infection called Brucellosis.
Zoonotic means people can only get me from animals.
I cause fever, headaches, mucle pain and even depression.

Sunday, November 05, 2006

Bordetella pertussis


Hello.
You can call me B. pertussis.
I'm a Gram Negative bacteria.
I am spread to people by respiratory droplets.
I cause whooping cough, which can be highly fatal in infants.

How do I do this?
I get into the throat and make toxins.

First I give you a cough, then your throat swells up.
If it swells up enough, it can block your airway, giving your breathing a "whooping" sound.

Saturday, November 04, 2006

Pasturella multocida




Hi, I'm P. multocida.
I am a Gram Negative rod.
I'm found in animal's mouths, especially cats and dogs.
I get into you in animal bites, like deep punctures.
I cause aggressive infections of skin.
It can creep all the way down to your tendons, joints and bones.


Actually, most bite wounds are polymicrobial.

That means it's not just me in there causing infection, lots of different bacteria are with me as well.
I'm just the most common.

Friday, November 03, 2006

HACEK bacteria










Hello.
We are the HACEK bacteria.
We are a special group of Gram Negative rods.
The word "HACEK" is an acronym of our names.
We are Haemophilus aphrophilus (and Haemophilus paraphrophilus), Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans, Cardiobacterium hominis, Eikenella corrodens and Kingella kingae.

We live in the mouth, throat and urogenital tract, but most of the time we don't cause many diseases.
When we do cause diseases, we love to cause endocarditis in people's hearts.
Endocarditis is inflammation of your heart valves.

Thursday, November 02, 2006

Legionella longbeachae



Hello, I'm L. longbeachae.
I'm a Gram Negative bacteria.

I often make my home in Australia, though I sometimes visit America.
One of my favourite spots is Western Australia.
I live in some aquatic environments, but most of the time I hang out in soil, potting mix and compost heaps.
I cause severe pneumonia and sometimes legionellosis.

Wednesday, November 01, 2006

Legionella pneumophilia


Bonjour, I am L. pneumophilia.
I am found everywhere, especially in aquatic environments.
I get into you through aerosol or water droplets.

My most well known serogroups are types 1, 4 and 6.
I'm well known for causing Legionnaire's disease.
This disease gives you a severe pneumonia illness.
I can also give you a milder, flu like disease called pontic fever.

Did you know? Legionnaire's disease got its name because it was first recognised at a legionnaire veteran convention?