What are toxins?

? Toxins are chemicals released by

pathogens, in particular bacteria, that have
harmful effects on the body. The effects
are felt throughout the body as the toxin
is transported through the body tissues
from bacteria present in other tissues.
xotoxins and ndotoxins
xotoxins
? xotoxins are soluble compounds secreted by the bacteria into
their environments; they interact with cells in the immune system
resulting in fevers and headaches.
? Both gram negative and gram positive bacteria produce exotoxins.
xotoxins may be secreted, or may be released during lysis of the
cell. The majority of exotoxins can be destroyed by heating.
xotoxins can be destroyed by antibodies produced by the immune
system, but many exotoxins are so toxic that they may be fatal
before the immune system can respond.
? There are three main types of exotoxins:
 toxins that act upon connective tissue - this allows the further
spread of bacteria and therefore the infection into underlying
tissues
 toxins that act as enzymes, enter cells and effect their metabolism
 membrane damaging toxins - these toxins are designed primarily to
puncture the cell membrane killing cells.
Tetanus
? Tetanus is a medical condition characterised by a
sustained contraction of skeletal muscle, the
symptoms are caused by tetanospasmin, an
exotoxin and neutrotoxin produced by the Gram
positive bacterium {
 

? ×nfection generally occurs through wound
contamination, and often involves a cut or deep
puncture wound. As the infection progresses,
muscle spasms in the jaw develop, hence the
common name, lockjaw. This is followed by
difficulty in swallowing and muscle stiffness and
spasms.
ndotoxins
? ndotoxins are produced by Gram negative
bacteria, for example,  

 
 





 
 
bacteria until the cell wall is
damaged or lysis occurs.
? ndotoxins need to be present in relatively large
amounts to have any effect, such as causing a
fever, inflammation or diaorrhoea. ndotoxins are
lipopolysaccharides that form part of the outer
membrane of the Gram negative cell wall.
? The only gram positive bacteria that produces
endotoxins is 3
 





almonella food poisoning
?  



 a pathogen that invades the
gut and introduces a toxin there, causes a food
based infection.
? The symptoms are a sudden onset of headaches,
chills, vomiting and diarrhoea.At this stage, the
toxin is mostly still attached to the bacterial walls.
? This is followed by a fever that lasts a few days,
and is caused when the dislodged toxin reaches
the blood circulation.
? ven at this stage, the bacterium itself remains in
the lumen of the gut, without invading cells.
J .8: Discuss the origin and
epidemiology of one example of a
pandemic
? ×n any population of organisms there will
always be a small number of people suffering
from an infection caused by a micro-
organism
? . An outbreak refers to a small number of
people in a small area suffering from a
disease.
? An epidemic occurs when a large number of
people in several communities suffer from
the same infection.
? A pandemic occurs when very large
numbers of people in different countries all
suffer from the same infection.
? According to the World Heath
Organisation (WHO), a pandemic may
start when the emergence of a disease or
disease strain new to the human
population, the pathogen infects humans,
causing serious illness and the agent
spreads among humans.
? Jour strains of the influenza or flu virus
are known: A, B, C and D. trains C and D
are stable, but new strains of A commonly
emerge.
? pidemics of influenza occur on a regular
seasonal basis and pandemics also occur,
for example, in 1918 when the panish flu
(A2 strain), killed more than twenty
million people worldwide.
? The influenza virus enters the respiratory
system in infected droplets and then
attacks the epithelial lining of the
bronchioles.
? The symptoms include fever, shivering,
headaches, sore throats and a blocked
nose. Adults often have aches in the back
and limbs. A cough often develops due to
damage to the trachea and bronchioles.
? Pathogenic bacteria often invade the
damaged air passages leading to bronchitis
and pneumonia.
? ×n 2004 an avian influenza virus was
detected in birds in outh ast Asia. ×t has
the ability to infect humans with a virulent
form of the flu who come into close
physical contact with infected birds.
? Biologists are concerned that the avian
virus (known as H5N1) could combine
with a human flu virus to create a subtype
that could be highly contagious and lethal
in humans. Human-human to transmission
of avian flu has not been demonstrated.
? The most famous pandemic of recorded
history is the Black Death which was
introduced to urope in the 1300·s from
Asia. A quarter of urope·s population were
killed.
? ×t has been traditionally assumed that the
Black Death was an example of the bubonic
plague, caused by the bacterium ÿ
 

 
  

 
  rat.
? However some recent research suggests
that the Black Death may have been caused
by an bola type virus.
? any Biologists consider H×
infection to
be a global pandemic. The WHO
estimates that 25 million people have died
since 1981 (when the H×
virus was first
identified).
? 40 million people are estimated to be H×

positive. Retroviral drugs prolong life
spans of H×
positive individuals, but
there is currently no cure or vaccine.
? The World Health Organisation (WHO) is
an agency of the United Nations (UN)
concerned with international public health.
×ts major task is to combat infectious
diseases, for example, Asian bird flu, malaria
and A×D, and to promote the health of the
world·s population.
? ×t also has programs to develop and
distribute vaccines and low cost H×
test
kits.
? The WHO·s vaccination program resulted in
the eradication of small pox in 1979. ×t
currently aims to eradicate polio within the
next few years.