Bacteriology

Clostridium botulinum and

Francisella tularensis
GROUP 4

Francisella tularesis
A pathogenic species of Gram-negative

bacteria and the causative agent of

tularemia, the pneumonic form of which is
often lethal without treatment.
It is a fastidious,facultative intracellular
bacterium which requires cysteine for
growth.

Mode of transmission
Tularemia is usually spread to humans by

insect bites from ticks and deerflies.

Direct exposure to infected animals such
as rodents, rabbits and hares.
Consuming contaminated foods and
water.
Tularemia is also airborne.

Signs and Symptoms

Abrupt onset of fever and chills - These symptoms

typically last for several days, remit for a brief interval,

and then recur
Pulse-temperature disassociation
Headache
Anorexia
Malaise and fatigue or prostration
Myalgias
Cough
Vomiting
Pharyngitis
Abdominal pain
Secondary pneumonitis

Diseases
Ulceroglandular tularemia - Includes painful regional

lymphadenopathy and an ulcerated skin lesion

Glandular tularemia - Tender lymphadenopathy without
evidence of local cutaneous lesions
Oculoglandular tularemia - Unilateral conjunctivitis, corneal
ulceration, lymphadenopathy, photophobia, lacrimation, lid
edema, vision loss (rare)
Oropharyngeal tularemia - Stomatitis and exudative
pharyngitis or tonsillitis; abdominal pain, nausea, and
vomiting; cervical lymphadenopathy; diarrhea; gastrointestinal
bleeding
Pneumonic tularemia - Dry cough, dyspnea, and pleuritictype chest pain
Typhoidal tularemia - Fever, chills, myalgias, malaise, and
weight loss

Microscopic view of Francisella

tularensis

Culture media
Francisellastrains requiring cystineand
cysteinemedia supplementation for growth.
Growth has been successful on several media
types, includingchocolate agarandThayerMartinmedia with appropriate additives as
noted above. Attempted isolation
onMacConkey agarisnotreliable or
generally successful.

Clostridium botulinum
A Gram-positive, rod-shaped, anaerobic,

spore-forming, motile bacterium with the

ability to produce the neurotoxin
botulinum.
The botulinum toxin can cause a severe
flaccid paralytic disease in humans and
animals and is the most potent toxin
known to humankind, natural or synthetic,
with a lethal dose of less than 1 g in
humans.

Mode of transmission
Classical botulism is acquired by ingestion

of inadequately cooked food.

Wound botulism are due to ground-in
soil or gravel.
Infant botulism arises from ingestion of
spores (foods such as honey and dust)
rather than pre-formed toxin.

Signs,Symptoms and
Diseases
Foodborne botulism- Results from ingestion of preformed
neurotoxins, commonly from foods that placed in anaerobic
storage such as in cans or jars.
Double vision
Blurred vision
Drooping eyelid
Nausea, vomiting, and abdominal cramps
Slurred speech
Trouble breathing
Difficulty in swallowing
Dry mouth
Muscle weakness
Constipation
Reduced or absent deep tendon reactions, such as in the knee.

 Infant/Intestinal botulism- Usually affects infants and

rarely, adults with altered gastrointestinal anatomy or

microflora. It is caused by ingesting spores of the botulinum
bacteria that multiply in the gut and produce the toxin.
Constipation (often the first sign)
Floppy movements due to muscle weakness and trouble

controlling the head

Weak cry
Irritability
Drooling
Drooping eyelids
Tiredness
Difficulty sucking or feeding
Paralysis

Wound botulism- Occurs when an open wound is

contaminated with botulinum spores.

Difficulty swallowing or speaking
Facial weakness on both sides of the face
Blurred or double vision
Drooping eyelids
Trouble breathing
Paralysis

Culture media
Clostridium botulinumis usually isolated in
tryptose sulfitecycloserine(TSC) growth
media in an anaerobic environment with less
than 2% of oxygen. This can be achieved by
several commercial kits that use a chemical
reaction to replace O2with CO2.C. botulinumis
alipasepositive microorganism that grows
betweenpHof 4.8 and 7 and can not use
lactoseas a primary carbon source,
characteristics important during a biochemical
identification.

Microscopic images of
Clostridium botulinum