|
|
|
|
|
|
Community-acquired pneumonia: Epidemiology - Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is a serious illness. It is the fourth most common cause of death in the UK, and sixth in the USA. 85% of cases of CAP are caused by the typical bacterial pathogens, namely, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae, and Moraxella catarrhalis. The remaining 15% are caused by atypical pathogens, namely Mycoplasma pneumoniae, Chlamydia pneumoniae, and Legionella species. Unusual aerobic gram-negative bacilli (for example, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Acinetobacter, Enterobacter) rarely cause CAP. Clinical features - typical symptoms include cough, purulent sputum production, shortness of breath, pleuritic chest pain, fevers and chills. On examination, one notes rapid respiratory rate and heart rate and signs of pulmonary consolidation. Koch did not believe that bovine (cattle) and human tuberculosis were similar, which held back the recognition of infected milk as a source of infection. Later, this source was eliminated by pasteurization. Koch announced a glycerine extract of the tubercle bacilli as a 'remedy' for tuberculosis in 1890, calling it tuberculin. It was not effective, but was later adapted by von Pirquet for a test for pre-symptomatic tuberculosis. The first genuine success in immunizing against tuberculosis developed from attenuated bovine strain tuberculosis by Albert Calmette and Camille Guerin in 1906 was BCG (Bacillus of Calmette and Guerin). It was first used on humans on July 18, 1921 in France, although national arrogance prevented its widespread use in either the USA, Great Britain, or Germany until after World War II. Click on following items to see more information: Anaerobes, Antibiotics, Antibiotic resistance, Antimicrobials, Bacillus, Bacillus subtilis, Microorganisms, Microbial, Phage, Yeast, Brevibacteria, Candida albicans, Cell suspensions, Clostridia, Culture medium, Escherichia coli, Escherichia coli, Escherichia coli, Escherichia coli, Escherichia coli, Enterobacters, Fermentations, Yeasts, Gram positive, Halomonas, Listeriosis, Microbial, Microbial, Microorganism, Nitrifying, Prokaryotes, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Rhizobacterium, S. cerevisiae, S. cerevisiae, Salmonella typhimurium, Serratia, Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcal, Streptococci, Vancomycin, Yeasts Algae are plant-like microorganisms that preceded plants in developing photosynthesis, the ability to turn sunlight into energy. Algae cells contain light-absorbing chloroplasts and produce oxygen through photosynthesis. Although plants generally get the credit for producing the oxygen we breathe, some 75% or more of the oxygen in the planet’s atmosphere is actually produced by photosynthetic algae and cyanobacteria. As microscopes improved over the years, scientists began noticing striking similarities in the appearances of mitochondria, chloroplasts, and bacterial cells. They discovered that these two organelles contain their own DNA, or gene set, organized very much like the DNA in bacterial cells. Mitochondria and chloroplasts also reproduce independently from the cells in which they reside, in a manner very like bacterial fission.
|
© 2005
Transgalactic Ltd (manufacturer of Bioscreen C software) |
Privacy Statement | P.O. Box
1393, 00101 Helsinki, Finland,
Last modified: May 25, 2005
| ||||||
