All the little things- public health.

From my outbreak module, a few facts about each disease I have to remember:

Anthrax

• Forms highly resistant endospores resistant to chemicals, temperature and PH extremes. Persistant in the environment for years but only infective when exposed to oxygen e.g. ground disturbance. 
• Cutaneous Anthrax the most common form. (95% of cases). 
• Humans become infected by ingestion/inhalation of spores. Can also infect cutaneous wounds. 
• Notifiable. 
• Culture/PCR. Culture- grey colonies. Nutrient agar. 35-37 degrees. Temperature range 12-45 degrees. 
• Mcfadyeans stain on blood smears (thick). PLET agar swab. 
• Gram positive non motile, encapsulated rod with square ends. Large rough, irregular colonies. Exists as vegetative bacillus and spore. Aerobic bacterium. 

E.Coli

• Gram negative bacteria. Rod shaped. Facultative anaerobe. ETEC 0157 E.Coli  enterohaemorrhagic).  Non sporulating. 
• Haemolytic Uraemic Syndrome, bloody diarrhoea, and haemorrhagic colitis.
• Consumption of food or water contaminated by faeces. Direct/indirect contact with infected animals. Contact with infected people. Contaminated environment. Low infectious dose 10-100.
• Ruminants primarily asymptomatic reservoirs. 
• CT-SMAC agar faecal samples, latex VTEC 0157 antiserum agglutination test. Phage typing, PCR.

Salmonella

• Zoonotic.
• Faeco-oral transmission.
• Endemic in pigs- important source. 
• Rod shaped, gram negative non spore forming. Facultative anaerobes. 
• Contaminate environment- some survival time outside host. 

Hanta Virus

• Urine, saliva or contact with rodent waste.
• Bunyavirus.
• ssRNA. -ve. 
• Inhalation of aerosol rodent excrement or bites.