Fungus & Prions
Download
Report
Transcript Fungus & Prions
Caused by parasite
› Transmitted by mosquito
› Once injected into the human, the parasite
grows and multiples first in the liver and then
the red blood cells.
Symptoms appear 710 days after
infection
Patient will
experience:
› Fever, chills, sweats,
headaches,
nausea, body
aches, general
malaise
About 1,500 cases reported every year in
the U.S.
› From travelers and/or immigrants
› Malaria considered eradicated from U.S. in
1950’s.
3.3 billion people diagnosed worldwide
› Thrives in tropical and subtropical areas.
Multicelled organisms
Contain polysaccharide – chitin
Reproductive structures – spores
Cause disease by interfering with normal
organ structure and function or by
inflammation or allergy
Most pathogenic fungi are molds
› Mold common in soil, air, water, dust
› Aspergillus mold is most common
Recent multistate fungal meningitis
outbreak…
Picture: (CNN, 2012)
Inflammation of the protective
membranes that cover the brain and
spinal cord.
Many different types: fungal meningitis is
NOT contagious but still serious.
Symptoms include:
› Fever, headache, and stiff neck
Normally does not cause disease, but takes
advantage of a weakened immune system
› “opportunistic”
› Ex: Athlete’s foot fungal skin infection
Infects about 10% of US population
Topical creams prevent new growth, but don’t kill
fungi already there
Often comes back
Prevention
Ex: Candida yeast infection
› White or yellow curd-like patches (colonies)
› Thrives in moist & warm environments:
Mouth/throat, Digestive tract/anus, penis,
vagina
› 75% of women will get a vaginal yeast
infection in their lifetime.
Prions (Pree – ons) = Proteinaceous
Infectious particles
Mutated prions cause:
› Mad Cow Disease in cows and
› Variant Creutzfeld-Jakob Disease (vCJD) in
people
An infectious agent composed only of
protein
All known prion diseases affect the
structure of the brain or other neural
tissues by inducing abnormal folding of
normal cellular proteins in the brain
Usually progresses rapidly and are
currently untreatable and fatal
Prions can jump from one species to
another, but easier among same
species.
› “Species barrier” somewhat protective
› Cow by-products fed to other cows
› In cows: Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy
Symptoms
› Loss of coordination
› Dementia
› Brain full of holes (sponge)
› Death
Mad cow disease 1st identified in 1980s in
Britain
217 people from 11 countries have
contracted or died from vCJD to date
(CDC)
› 170 in United Kingdom
› 25 in France
› 3 in U.S. – believed exposed in UK in 1980s
CDC: “The risk of getting mad cow
disease from eating beef from European
cattle is about 1 in 10 billion”
CDC: “The risk to human health from BSE
in the United States is extremely low”
While the risk is small, it takes 10-20 years
from infection to the onset of disease –
so who really knows the risk??
(10/2003)
(2007)
USDA budget for
2007: cut back on
cattle testing
Less than ½ of 1%
(0.006) tested!
Public health control measures to keep
infected meat out of the human food
chain.
› No downer cows (12/2003)
› No cows fed to cows (1997)
› Prohibition of certain cow parts in the human
food supply (2006)
Ground beef a source?