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Microorganisms On Wood

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Mycobacteria are a type of germ. There are many different kinds. The most common one causes tuberculosis. Another one causes leprosy. Still others cause infections that are called atypical mycobacterial infections. They aren't "typical" because they don't cause tuberculosis. But they can still harm people, especially people with other problems that affect their immunity, such as AIDS.

Sometimes you can have these infections with no symptoms at all. At other times, they can cause lung symptoms similar to tuberculosis:

Cough

Weight loss

Coughing up blood or mucus

Weakness or fatigue

Fever and chills

Night sweats

Lack of appetite and weight loss

Medicines can treat these infections, but often more than one is needed to cure the infection.

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A doctor can perform several tests to detect mycobacteria, including examination and culture * of samples of blood, sputum * , bowel movement, or bone marrow. Chest X rays or computerized tomography * (CT) scans can show disease in the lungs. Some cases may require endoscopy * to collect a sample of lung or stomach tissue or biopsies * of skin or lymph node tissue. Quickly diagnosing mycobacterial infections is crucial, as treatment needs to begin as soon as possible.

The PPD (purified protein derivative) skin test for tuberculosis will often be positive, although not as strongly so, in people who have an atypical mycobacterial infection, because atypical mycobacteria are so similar to the bacterium that causes TB.

Treatment for mycobacterial infections depends on the type of bacterium, the location and severity of the infection, and the status of the person's immune system. Resistant and severe infections usually need to be treated with a combination of antibiotics, and up to six medications may be used at once. Surgery, sometimes along with medications, is the most effective way to treat lymph node infections and skin lesions.

Treatment for MOTT infections can take as long as 6 months to 2 years. Antibiotics work during the growth stage of bacteria, and mycobacteria are slow growing. If left untreated, MOTT infections can spread throughout the body, especially in people with weak immune systems. They can cause abscesses * , bone and joint infections, and infections of the lymph nodes, lungs, or soft tissue. Widespread infections can lead to serious illness and even death.

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Despite the antimicrobial mechanisms of vertebrate phagocytes, mycobacteria can survive within the phagosomes of these cells. These organisms use various strategies to evade destruction, including inhibition of acidification of the phagosome and inhibition of phagosome-lysosome fusion. In contrast to mycobacteria, Coxiella burnetii, the etiologic agent of Q fever, inhabits a spacious acidified intracellular vacuole which is prone to fusion with other vacuoles of the host cell, including phagosomes containing mycobacteria. The Coxiella-infected cell thus provides a unique model for investigating the survival of mycobacteria in an acidified phagosome-like compartment. In the present study, murine bone marrow-derived macrophages were infected with either Mycobacterium avium or Mycobacterium tuberculosis and then coinfected with C. burnetii. We observed that the majority of phagocytosed mycobacteria colocalized to the C. burnetii-containing vacuole, which maintained its acidic properties. In coinfected macrophages, the growth of M. avium was not impaired following fusion with the acidified vacuole. In contrast, the growth rate of M. tuberculosis was reduced in acidified vacuoles. These results suggest that although both species of mycobacteria inhibit phagosome-lysosome fusion, they may be differentially susceptible to the toxic effects of the acidic environment in the mature phagolysosome.

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his infection causes skin lesions, sometimes known as swimming pool granuloma * or fish tank granuloma. Infection with M. marinum (MAR-ih-num) is very rare, occurring in less than 1 in 100,000 people. Those who are most at risk include people with weakened immune systems and people who handle fish, are exposed to contaminated water in aquariums, or swim in fresh or salt water that contains the mycobacterium. Several weeks after a person has contact with contaminated water, a bump appears on a hand, arm, or foot where there was a break in the skin. The lesion grows and drains over several weeks, leaving an ulcer * . Occasionally, a deep infection will cause tenderness and swelling in the nearby bone or joints.

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Mycobacterium tuberculosis H(37)Rv is a highly successful pathogen and its success fully relies on its ability to utilize macrophages for its replication and, more importantly, the macrophage should remain viable to host the Mycobacterium. Despite the fact that these phagocytes are usually very effective in internalizing and clearing most of the bacteria, M. tuberculosis H(37)Rv has evolved a number of very effective survival strategies, including: (a) the inhibition of phagosome-lysosome fusion; (b) the inhibition of phagosome acidification; (c) the recruitment and retention of tryptophan-aspartate containing coat protein on phagosomes to prevent their delivery to lysosomes; and (d) the expression of members of the host-induced repetitive glycine-rich protein family of proteins. However, the mechanisms by which M. tuberculosis H(37)Rv enters the host cell, circumvents host defenses and spreads to neighboring cell are not completely understood. Therefore, a better understanding of host-pathogen interaction is essential if the global tuberculosis pandemic is ever to be controlled.

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Atypical mycobacteria are commonly found in the environment, like in soil and water, and in food. Most of the time they do not cause infection or illness in healthy people. When a person's immune system is weakened, however, as in people who have HIV or AIDS, several strains of mycobacteria can cause opportunistic infections * . Atypical mycobacteria are related to the bacterium that causes tuberculosis (TB), but they often are resistant to the drugs used to treat TB. These strains are called mycobacteria other than tuberculosis, or MOTT.

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Although there are more than a dozen species of atypical mycobacteria, the two most common are Mycobacterium kansasii and M. avium-intracellulare. These microbes are found in many places in the environment: tap water, fresh and ocean water, milk, bird droppings, soil, and house dust. The manner in which these bacteria are transmitted is not completely understood. There is no evidence that they are transmitted from person to person.

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Atypical mycobacterial infections are infections caused by several types of mycobacteria similar to the germ that causes tuberculosis. These atypical mycobacterial infections are a frequent complication in patients with human immunodeficiency

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Mycobacterium is a genus of Actinobacteria, given its own family, the Mycobacteriaceae. The genus includes pathogens known to cause serious diseases in mammals, including tuberculosis.