Spirochetes

• What is the shape of spirochetes?

  Spiral or helically-shaped rods
• Spirochetes are motile due to axial filaments.
• Spirochetes are facultative anaerobes
• How do spirochetes multiply?

  Transverse fission
• Match the Treponema subspecies with its associated disease:

  1. pallidum subspecies pallidum ↔️ Syphilis
  2. pallidum subspecies pertenue ↔️ Yaws
  3. pallidum subspecies endemicum ↔️ Bejel syphilis
  4. pallidum subspecies carateum ↔️ Pinta
• Stages of syphilis in order:

  1️⃣ Primary

  2️⃣ Secondary

  3️⃣ Latent

  4️⃣ Tertiary
• What is the primary lesion of syphilis called?

  Hard chancre
• The hard chancre of primary syphilis appears after an incubation period of 10 days to several months
• The chancre of primary syphilis is painless.
• Match the serological tests with their relative sensitivity during the primary stage of syphilis:

  RPR ↔️ More sensitive

  VDRL ↔️ Less sensitive
• What type of rash appears during the secondary stage of syphilis?

  Maculopapular rash
• White mucous patches on the mucous membrane are called condylomata lata.
• What is the other etiology of rat bite fever besides Spirillum minus?

  Streptobacillus moniliformis
• Sodoku fever is a term employed to the disease that occurs in man following exposure to Spirillum minus
• What is the fusiform bacterium that causes Trench mouth?

  Fusobacterium
• G/S of Fusobacterium reveals numerous spirochetes.
• What is the disease caused by Borrelia anserina?

  Avian spirochetosis
• Borrelia anserina spirochetes can be found in the PBS stained by direct stain, which is sufficient for a definitive diagnosis of relapsing fever
• Stages of Lyme disease caused by Borrelia burgdorferi:

  1️⃣ Stage 1: Erythematous papule or bulls-eye rash

  2️⃣ Stage 2: Acute disseminated infection

  3️⃣ Stage 3: Chronic symptoms
• Erythema chronicum migrans is the classic rash of Lyme disease.
• What are common acute symptoms of Lyme disease during Stage 2?

  Arthritis, meningitis, nerve palsies
• Chronic skin lesions and neurologic symptoms are characteristic of Stage 3 Lyme disease
• Louse-borne relapsing fever is usually epidemic.
• Which Borrelia species is responsible for louse-borne relapsing fever?

  1. recurrentis
• What is the vector for B. hermsii, which causes tick-borne relapsing fever?

  Ornithodorus hermsii
• Relapsing fever is caused by Borrelia spp. and transmitted by lice or ticks
• Typical symptoms of relapsing fever:

  1️⃣ High fever with chills

  2️⃣ Delirium

  3️⃣ Muscle and joint pain

  4️⃣ Remission

  5️⃣ Repeat of symptoms
• What titer is considered presumptive positive in serological testing for Leptospira using microagglutination?

  1:200
• Leptospirosis is a zoonotic disease primarily transmitted from rodents through their urine
• Spirochetes are rapidly cleared from the blood during the Jarisch-Herxheimer reaction in leptospirosis.
• What fatal systemic disease is caused by Leptospira and involves jaundice, renal failure, and liver dysfunction?

  Weil’s disease
• Which Leptospira species contains pathogenic strains like L. interrogans?

  1. biflexa
• Match the organ affected by Leptospira with its primary function:

  Kidneys ↔️ Filter blood

  Liver ↔️ Detoxifies blood
• The secondary immune phase of spirochete infections begins after a 1-3 day absence of symptoms.
• What reaction occurs when spirochetes are rapidly cleared from the blood?

  Jarisch-Herxheimer reaction
• Half of those with large amounts of inflammation in the CSF develop aseptic meningitis.
• What are three symptoms associated with Weil’s disease?

  Jaundice, renal failure, liver dysfunction
• The term Leptospira means “thin” and fine.
• Describe the physical characteristics of Leptospira organisms.

  Thin, flexible, coiled spirals
• Leptospira are strict aerobic organisms that are oxidase, catalase, and peroxidase positive.