Introduction to Microbiology

objectives• Define microbiology

• Describe the contributions of scientists to the conquest of disease

• Identify basic health care procedures used to prevent and control disease

Microbiology

• Study of microscopic (living ) things

• E.g.

viruses, bacteria, algae, protists, fungi

History of Microbiology

• 1590 – First compound light microscope Zacharias Janssen

History

• 1676 –first observation of bacteria “animalcules”

Anton Von Leeuwenhoek

Spontaneous generation or abiogenesis

• Life can suddenly or spontaneously arise from decomposing nonliving matter

• Decaying meat gave rise to maggots

• Sweat laden shirts stored with wheat in a dark area gave rise to mice

• Hairs from horses tail when placed in water produced worms

Lazzaro spallananzani

Lazzaro spallanzani

• Performed experiments to disprove the theory of spontaneous generation.

• Conducted the boiled meat broth experiment in a sealed flask

History

• 1796 – First vaccine (smallpox)

Edward Jenner

History

• 1857 – Germ Theory of Disease Louis Pasteur

Oliver wendall holmes

• Suggested that childbed fever a highly contagious disease, might be spread by the hands of doctors and nurses who went from one patient to another

Ignaz phillipp semmelweis obstetrician

• Sometime later, noted death rates of patients being visited by physicians and medical students who had come from morgue or autopsy room were much higher

John Tyndall

Developed a method of killing heat resistant bacteria

History

• 1867 Antiseptic Surgery

Joseph Lister

History

• 1884 Koch’s Postulates of Disease Transmission

Robert Koch

Golden age of bacteriology

• Pasteur, lister, and Koch

• Pasteur institute paris 1888

• Germany infective disease institue Koch became professor

History

• 1929 Discovery of Penicillin

(first antibiotic)

Alexander Fleming

History

• 1938 – First Electron Microscope

• The electron microscope is capable of magnifying biological specimens up to one million times. These computer enhanced images of 1. smallpox, 2. herpes simplex, and 3. mumps are magnified, respectively, 150,000, 150,000 and 90,000 times.

History

1953 Structure of DNA Revealed

Watson & Crick

History

1954 Polio Vaccine

Jonas Salk

CHICKEN POX

• 1995

• CONTRVERSIAL

• Disease not serious enough to warrant vaccine

• Effective about 10 years, child becoming adult and risk catching

Haemophilus influenza type B

• Must part of all infant/children

• 2,4,6 months

• Causes meningitis, pneumonia, pericarditis, osteomyelitis

spread by respiratory secretions by direct person to person contact

hepatitis

• A,B,C,D,E,F,G alphabet soup

• Cure not on horizon

• Good hygiene, education

• Hep C stealth disease blood to blood contact

HIV/ Aids

• Linked to several conditions

• Karposis sarcoma

• Pneumocystitis

• Much research continues in the U.S and around the world

Karposis sarcoma a rare skin cancer

Emerging pathogens• Candida albicans

• Coccidiodes immitis a soil fungus

• Cryptospiridia

• Tuberculosis

Preventing infections• Majority of microorganisms are

harmless

• Prevention and control of disease is the responsibility of every member of the health care team

• Most important good handwashing!!!!!