Pseudomonas

General Characteristics
Rod-shaped
Gram-Negative
One or more polar flagella
Strictly aerobic
Straight or curve
Non-Spore Forming

Pseudomonas fluorescens

Pseudomonas aeruginosa

P. aeruginosacolonies on anagar plate

Classification
Pseudomonas:
A genus of Gram-negative
aerobic
gammaproteobacteria
Family
ofPseudomonadaceae

Classification history
was first classified at the end of

19th century by Walter Migula

Etymology :
from Greek word pseudes
means false and monas
means a single unit, which can
mean false unit .

Ecology
can be found in soil, marshes,

coastal marine habitats, and plant

and animal tissue
can tolerate a variety of physical
conditions
Psychotropic: grows best at
refrigerator temperature
(4C)

Ecology

(cont.)

simple carbon source such

as soapresidue or cap lineradhesives

includeantiseptics, such as
quaternaryammoniumcompo
unds, andbottledmineral
water

Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Actively motile
Nonspore- forming
Oxidase- positive bacillus
"epitome" of opportunistic

pathogens

Clinical relevance
second-most-common infection in

hospitalized patients
mildly pathogenic; almost never
infects uncompromised tissues but
infect practically any type of tissue if
that tissue has some type of
compromised defenses
most common pathogen isolated
from patients who have been

Clinical relevance cont

Common

in patients with:

Nosocomial Infections
o Sinus

infections;
bronchopneumonia
o Urinary Tract Infection (UTI)
Burns and wound infections
Cystic Fibrosis

Clinical relevance cont

Sinus infections;

bronchopneumonia
Source: equipments that are
hard to clean and sterilize
such as face mask, certain
kinds of humid rubber tubing
nebulizer, and parts of
intermittent positive- pressure

Clinical relevance cont

Urinary Tract Infection
Sources: urinary catheters
Thus it is advisable to discontinue
the use
Burns and wound infections
Burns
P.

aeruginosa usually grow aerobically

in burned area.

Clinical relevance cont

They

can produce exotoxins

such as cystotoxins and
necrotoxins , and neurotoxins

Prevention:
Victim

must be treated in an aseptic

environment
Use of antimicrobial topical
agents(e.g., silver sulfadiazine)

Clinical relevance cont

Wounds and Surgical

infections
P. aeruginosa from soil and
feces is notorious for
causing deep, antibioticresistant infections.
Secretes enzymes which

Clinical relevance cont

Prevention :
Any

trauma injury must be

opened and thoroughly
cleansed to remove debris and
inhibit the growth of microbes;
then it is usually covered lightly
to prevent further contamination

Clinical relevance cont

Cystic Fibrosis
P. aeruginosa have a

predilection for pulmonary

colonization in patients with
cystic fibrosis
They colonizes respiratory tract
(but rarely being found in
sputum otherwise) persist , and

Pseudomonas
pseudomallei
Gram- negative
Motile
Nonpigmented bacillus

Clinical relevance
Pseudomonas pseudomallei
causes meliodosis an uncommon
tropical disease
Its pulmonary manifestations are easily
confused with those of tuberculosis
May be septicemia with wide lesions
over the body
Nicknamed Vietnamese time bomb

Clinical relevance cont

The organisms presumably

enter the body by way of the

mouth and nose or through
open wounds
Growth of bacilli is wrinkled
and crinkly in cultures with a
typical odor. A
hemagglutination test is

Antibiotic resistance of
Pseudomonas
mostPseudomonas spp.are

naturally resistant to
penicillinand the majority of
relatedbeta-lactam antibiotics
number are sensitive
topiperacillin,imipenem,ticar
cillin, orciprofloxacin

Antibiotic resistance of
Pseudomonas
This ability to thrive in harsh

conditions is a result of their

hardycell wall that contains
porins
Their resistance to most
antibiotics is attributed
toefflux pumps

Aeromo
nas

Characteristics
Gram-negative
facultative anaerobic rod
morphologically resembles

members of the
familyEnterobacteriaceae
beta-hemolytic on blood agar
oxidase positive

Aeromonas hydophila

Etymology
Greeknounaer, aeros which

means air, gas and monas

which means unit, monad
Aeromonas, gas(-producing)
monad
They group with the gamma
subclass of the Proteobacteria

Clinical relevance
Two major diseases associated

withAeromonasaregastroenteritisan
d wound infections, with or
withoutbacteremia
Although some potential virulence
factors
(e.g.endotoxins,hemolysins,enterot
oxins, adherence factors) have been
identified, their precise role is unknown.

Clinical relevance cont

Aeromonasspecies cause:
opportunistic systemic

disease
inimmunocompromisedpatients
diarrheal disease in otherwise
healthy individuals, and
wound infections

Clinical relevance cont

Gastroenteritis
in children is usually an

acute, severe illness

whereas that in adults
tends to be chronic
diarrhea

Clinical relevance cont

Aeromonasgastroenteritis

resemblesshigellosis
with blood and leukocytes in the
stool
Acute diarrheal disease is self
limited
and only supportive care is
indicated in affected patients

Clinical relevance cont

Antimicrobial therapy
necessary for patients with chronic

diarrheal disease or systemic

infection
Aeromonasspecies are resistant
topenicillins, mostcephalosporins,
anderythromycin