What is pneumococcus shape?
Bacteriology. Streptococcus pneumoniae cells are Gram-positive, lancet-shaped cocci (elongated cocci with a slightly pointed outer curvature). Usually, they are seen as pairs of cocci (diplococci), but they may also occur singly and in short chains.
What does a pneumococcus do?
What is pneumococcal disease? Pneumococcal disease is caused by bacteria called Streptococcus pneumoniae (pneumococcus). People with pneumococcal disease can spread the bacteria to others when they cough or sneeze. Symptoms of pneumococcal infection depend on the part of the body affected.
What is the structure of pneumococcal?
pneumoniae is roughly six layers thick and is composed of peptidoglycan with teichoic acid attached to approximately every third N-acetylmuramic acid. Lipoteichoic acid is chemically identical to the teichoic acid but is attached to the cell membrane by a lipid moiety.
Can you get pneumonia in your ear?
What is pneumococcal disease? Pneumococcal disease is a common and often mild infection, but it can sometimes result in serious health problems. These include a middle ear infection, a blood infection, pneumonia, or bacterial meningitis.
How many strains of pneumococcus are there?
Causes of pneumococcal infections There are more than 90 different strains of S. pneumoniae, and some are much more likely to cause serious infection (virulent) than others. Some strains can be easily killed by the immune system, while others are resistant and likely to cause a more serious infection.
Is pneumococcus prokaryotic or eukaryotic?
Eukaryotic-like signaling in S. pneumoniae has been studied extensively and found to regulate pleiotropic functions that include virulence, competence, antibiotic resistance, growth and stress response of the pathogen [20,88–94]. The kinase StkP and the cognate STP PppL are manganese-dependent enzymes [88].
What disease does Streptococcus pyogenes cause?
Life-threatening infections caused by Streptococcus pyogenes (group A streptococcus) include scarlet fever, bacteremia, pneumonia, necrotizing fasciitis, myonecrosis and Streptococcal Toxic Shock Syndrome (StrepTSS).
What diseases are caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae?
Streptococcus pneumoniae is the most common cause of middle ear infections, sepsis (blood infection) in children and pneumonia in immunocompromised individuals and the elderly. It can also cause meningitis (inflammation of the coverings of the brain and spinal cord) or sinus infections.
What part of the pneumococcus is responsible for the bacteria’s pathogenicity?
The cell wall of pneumococci is a major determinant of the course of disease. The interaction of PCho on the cell wall teichoic acid binds to PAFr and enables bacterial invasion of cells and transmigration across barriers.
What part of pneumococcus determines the serotype?
A major virulence factor of S. pneumoniae is the polysaccharide capsule and, based on the biochemical properties of the capsule, S. pneumoniae is categorized into different serotypes. Currently, approximately 100 serotypes are known [2, 3].
Can ear problems cause shortness of breath?
Ear pain and hearing loss may occur over time if the pressure difference badly damaged your ear. Some situations that cause ear barotrauma may also damage the lungs and sinuses. These might cause additional symptoms, such as pain of the face or shortness of breath.