Understanding Human-Microbe Interaction

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Questions and Answers

Which factor weakens host defenses and increases susceptibility to infection?

Regular exercise

Eating a balanced diet

Old age (correct)

Consuming probiotics

What is the aim of The Human Microbiome Project?

To develop new antibiotics

To identify genetic sequences to determine the role of normal biota in human health and disease (correct)

To investigate the impact of climate change on microbial diversity

To study the effects of pollution on human microbiota

When does initial colonization of the newborn occur?

During breastfeeding

During teething

During weaning

During the birth process itself (correct)

What do true pathogens do?

Cause disease in healthy persons with normal immune defenses Signup and view all the answers

What contributes to tissue damage by microbes?

Virulence factors Signup and view all the answers

What is adhesion in the context of microorganisms?

The process by which microbes gain a stable foothold on host tissues Signup and view all the answers

What is the incubation period?

The time from initial contact with the infectious agent to the appearance of symptoms Signup and view all the answers

What is a mechanical vector?

An animal that carries the microbe more or less accidentally on its body parts Signup and view all the answers

What is latency?

A dormant state of microbes in certain chronic infectious diseases Signup and view all the answers

What is a syndrome?

A disease identified by a certain complex of signs and symptoms Signup and view all the answers

What is a biological vector?

An animal that serves as a site for pathogen multiplication or completion of its life cycle Signup and view all the answers

What is meant by sequelae?

Long-term or permanent damage to tissues or organs caused by infectious disease. Signup and view all the answers

What is transmissibility of microbes?

The ability of an infected host to transmit the infectious agent to another host. Signup and view all the answers

What are reservoirs?

Primary habitats in the natural world from which a pathogen originates. Signup and view all the answers

What is a zoonosis?

An infection indigenous to animals but naturally transmissible to humans. Signup and view all the answers

What are nosocomial infections?

Infections acquired during a hospital stay. Signup and view all the answers

What is contagious disease?

A disease that is highly communicable, especially through direct contact. Signup and view all the answers

What are horizontal transfers in communicable diseases?

Diseases spread through populations from one infected individual to another. Signup and view all the answers

What is the definition of prevalence in epidemiological statistics?

The total number of existing cases with respect to the entire population Signup and view all the answers

Which healthcare processes can lead to nosocomial infections?

All of the above Signup and view all the answers

Who laid the foundations of modern epidemiology?

Florence Nightingale Signup and view all the answers

What is the role of an infection control officer in controlling nosocomial infections?

All of the above Signup and view all the answers

What are Koch’s postulates used for?

Determining causation of infectious disease Signup and view all the answers

What is the definition of mortality rate in epidemiological statistics?

The total number of deaths in a population due to a certain disease Signup and view all the answers

What is the main role of universal precautions in healthcare?

To prevent transmission of blood-borne pathogens in healthcare settings Signup and view all the answers

What is the definition of endemic in epidemiology?

An infectious disease that exhibits a relatively steady frequency over a long time period in a particular geographic locale Signup and view all the answers

What is the main focus of epidemiology?

To study frequency and distribution of disease and other health-related factors in defined populations Signup and view all the answers

What are examples of barrier precautions used in healthcare settings?

Proper hand hygiene and the use of personal protective equipment Signup and view all the answers

Study Notes

The Human Host and Microorganisms

The human body is in a state of dynamic equilibrium with microorganisms, with healthy individuals having a peaceful coexistence with microbes, and occasionally, the balance tips in favor of microbes causing disease.
Infectious Disease is the disruption of a tissue or organism caused by microbes or their products, and not all contacts lead to colonization, infection, or disease.
The Human Microbiome Project aims to identify genetic sequences to determine the role of normal biota in human health and disease.
Factors that weaken host defenses and increase susceptibility to infection include old age, extreme youth, genetic or acquired defects in immunity, surgery, organ transplants, underlying diseases, chemotherapy, physical and mental stress, and pregnancy.
Initial colonization of the newborn occurs during the birth process itself, with bottle-fed infants having a mixed population of coliforms, lactobacilli, enteric streptococci, and staphylococci, while breast-fed infants have Bifidobacterium favored by a growth factor in milk.
The type and severity of infection depend on the pathogenicity of the microbe, infectious dose, portal of entry, host genetics, previous exposure to specific microbe, and condition of the host.
True pathogens are capable of causing disease in healthy persons with normal immune defenses, while opportunistic pathogens cause disease when the host’s defenses are compromised or when they become established in a part of the body that is not natural to them.
The majority of pathogens have adapted to a specific portal of entry, and the infectious dose varies for different microbes.
Adhesion is the process by which microbes gain a stable foothold on host tissues, and adhesion mechanisms include fimbriae, surface proteins, adhesive slimes or capsules, viruses, and parasitic worms.
Microbes not established as normal biota will encounter host immune defenses when first entering, including phagocytes and antiphagocytic factors that help pathogens avoid phagocytes.
Virulence factors contribute to tissue damage through the action of enzymes, toxins, and by inducing the host’s defenses to respond excessively or inappropriately.
Microbial diseases are often the result of direct damage from enzymes and toxins, or indirect damage from an excessive or inappropriate immune response.

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Description

Test your knowledge about the dynamic equilibrium between the human body and microorganisms, and how it relates to contact, infection, and disease. Explore the continuum of infectious disease caused by microbes and their products.