Species of human pathogenic bacteria
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Species
|
Transmission
|
Diseases
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Bacillus anthracis
|
Contact with sheep, goats and horses
Inhalation or skin penetration through abrasions of spore-contaminated dust
|
Cutaneous anthrax
Pulmonary anthrax
Gastrointestinal anthrax
|
Bordetella pertussis
|
Contact with respiratory droplets expelled by infected human hosts.
|
Whooping cough
Complications:
Secondary bacterial pneumonia
|
Borrelia burgdorferi
|
Ixodes ticks
reservoir in deer, mice and other rodents
|
Lyme disease
|
Brucella abortus
Brucella canis
Brucella melitensis
Brucella suis
|
Direct contact with infected animal
Oral, by ingestion of unpasteurized milk or milk products
|
Brucellosis
|
Campylobacter jejuni
|
Faecal/oral from animals (mammals and fowl)
Contaminated meat (especially poultry)
Contaminated water
|
Acute enteritis
|
Chlamydia pneumoniae
|
Respiratory droplets
|
Community-acquired respiratory infection
|
Chlamydia trachomatis
|
Sexual (NGU, LGV)
Direct or contaminated surfaces and flies (trachoma)
Passage through birth canal (ICN)
|
Nongonococcal urethritis (NGU)
Lymphogranuloma venereum (LGV)
Trachoma
Inclusion conjunctivitis of the newborn (ICN)
|
Chlamydophila psittaci
|
Inhalation of dust with secretions or feces from birds (e.g. parrots)
|
Psittacosis
|
Clostridium botulinum
|
Spores from soil and aquatic sediments contaminating vegetables, meat and fish
|
Botulism
|
Clostridium difficile
|
Spores both indoors and outdoors
Human flora, overgrowing when other flora is depleted
|
Pseudomembranous colitis
|
Clostridium perfringens
|
Spores in soil
Human flora in vagina and GI tract
|
Gas gangrene
Acute food poisoning
Anaerobic cellulitis
|
Clostridium tetani
|
Spores in soil infecting puncture wounds, severe burns or surgery
|
Tetanus
|
Corynebacterium diphtheriae
|
Respiratory droplets
Part of human flora
|
Diphtheria
|
Enterococcus faecalis and Enterococcus faecium
|
Part of human flora, opportunistic or entering through GI tract or urinary system wounds
|
Nosocomial infections
|
Escherichia coli (generally)
|
Part of gut flora, spreading extraintestinally or proliferating in the GI tract
|
Urinary tract infections (UTI)
Diarrhea
Meningitis in infants
|
Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC)
|
Faecal-oral through food and water
Direct physical contact
|
Traveller's diarrhea
|
Enteropathogenic E. coli
|
Vertical, in utero or at birth
|
Diarrhoea in infants
|
E. coli O157:H7
|
Reservoir in cattle
|
Hemorrhagic colitis
Hemolytic-uremic syndrome
|
Francisella tularensis
|
Vector-borne by anthropods
Infected wild or domestic animals, birds or house pets
|
Tularemia
|
Haemophilus influenzae
|
Droplet contact
Human flora of e.g. upper respiratory tract
|
Bacterial meningitis
Upper respiratory tract infections
Pneumonia, bronchitis
|
Helicobacter pylori
|
Colonizing stomach
Unclear person-to-person transmission
|
Peptic ulcer
Risk factor for gastric carcinoma and gastric B-cell lymphoma
|
Legionella pneumophila
|
Droplet contact, from e.g. cooling towers, humidifiers, air conditioners and water distribution systems
|
Legionnaire's Disease
Pontiac fever
|
Leptospira interrogans
|
Food and water contaminated by e.g. urine from wild or domestic animals. Leptospira survives for weeks in stagnant water.
|
Leptospirosis
|
Listeria monocytogenes
|
Dairy products, ground meats, poultry
Vertical to newborn or foetus
|
Listeriosis
|
Mycobacterium leprae
|
Prolonged human-human contact, e.g. through exudates from skin lesions to abrasion of other person
|
Leprosy (Hansen's disease)
|
Mycobacterium tuberculosis
|
Droplet contact
|
Tuberculosis
|
Mycoplasma pneumoniae
|
Human flora
Droplet contact
|
Mycoplasma pneumonia
|
Neisseria gonorrhoeae
|
Sexually transmitted
vertical in birth
|
Gonorrhea
Ophthalmia neonatorum
Septic arthritis
|
Neisseria meningitidis
|
Respiratory droplets
|
Meningococcal disease including meningitis
Waterhouse-Friderichsen syndrome
|
Pseudomonas aeruginosa
|
Infects damaged tissues or people with reduced immunity.
|
Pseudomonas infection
Localized to eye, ear, skin, urinary, respiratory or gastrointestinal tract or CNS, or systemic with bacteraemia, secondary pneumonia bone and joint infections, endocarditis, skin, soft tissue or CNS infections.
|
Rickettsia rickettsii
|
Bite of infected wood or dog tick
|
Rocky mountain spotted fever
|
Salmonella typhi
|
Human-human
Faecal-oral through food or water
|
Typhoid fever type salmonellosis (dysentery, colitis)
|
Salmonella typhimurium
|
Faecal-oral
Food contaminated by fowl (e.g. eggs), pets and other animals
|
Salmonellosis with gastroenteritis and enterocolitis
|
Shigella sonnei
|
Faecal-oral
Flies
Contaminated food or water
|
Bacillary dysentery/Shigellosis
|
Staphylococcus aureus
|
Human flora on mucosae in e.g. anterior nares and vagina, entering through wound
|
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