Current Events
All Mental Health Vector Borne Disease Heat Impact Extreme Weather Water/Food Borne Illness Degraded Air Quality The Impact of Hurricane Katrina on the Mental and Physical Health of Low-Income Parents in New Orleans 9/11/2025 “Long-term health and mental health services are needed for low-income disaster survivors, especially those who experience disaster-related stressors and loss.” The […]
Microbiome, normal flora, and antimicrobial stewardship
Learning goals Explain virulence and how it relates to benign versus pathogenic microorganisms Name common bacterial species that are considered normal human flora for each of the following locations: skin, mouth, colon, and vagina, and describe how these organisms enhance host immunity Explain the impact of a distorted microbiome, related to antibiotic exposure or hospitalization, […]
Ectoparasites
Scabies/Sarcoptes Human-to-human spread. Clinical: intensely itchy papular rash (hands, wrists, elbows, webbing between fingers, penis, scrotum), or occasionally diffuse non-pruritic rash in immune suppressed patients (crusted scabies). Secondary bacterial infection is common. Dx: Skin scraping or adhesive tape (look for mites, eggs or feces). Rx: Lindane, etc. Lice/Pediculosis Three types: Head louse Body louse Pubic […]
Trematodes
Flukes Non-segmented flat worms. Schistosomiasis (Blood fluke) A very common parasitic disease with significant morbidity and mortality. Human reservoir (or animal reservoir for some species) with snails in life cycle. Infection occurs when humans are in water and schistosomal cercariae (from snails) penetrate human skin. Cercariae form larvae that penetrate blood vessels and are carried […]
Cestodes
Tapeworms Segmented flat worms. Taenia sagniata (Beef tapeworm) Humans ingest undercooked beef containing cysticerci, larvae attach to bowel wall and mature to adult worms that eventually shed proglottids into feces that are eaten by cattle. Humans are the definitive host, and cows the intermediate host. Clinically, infection is usually asymptomatic except mild abdominal discomfort, as […]
Nematodes
Round worms GI Enterobius (Pin worm) Transmitted by ingestion of eggs, which develop into adults within the gut. Females migrate to rectum/anus to lay eggs on skin. Symptoms are associated with this migration and lead to intense anal pruritis (itchy butt). Re-infection is common when hands are used to scratch the pruritic area, carrying eggs […]
Protozoa
Amoeba About the size of WBCs, but move by pseudopodia. Entamoeba histolytica (amebiasis) Obligate human parasite that are transmitted to humans by ingestion of the cysts shed in asymptomatic carriers’ stool. Cysts form trophozoites in intestine where they can eat RBCs and invade the colonic mucosa. Clinical disease includes acute dysenteric colitis (fever, blood and […]
Musculoskeletal exam
Introduction to bacteria: Classification and structure; virulence and pathogenicity
Learning goals Introduction to bacteria: Classification and structure Demonstrate the different ways of cataloguing bacteria by shape, staining characteristics, and metabolic strategies Describe the content, structure, and function of key bacterial features: capsule, cell wall, cell membrane, spores, and appendages Compare and contrast the components and structure of gram-negative and gram-positive cell walls Introduction […]
Antifungal drugs
Amphotericin B Ampho B Broad spectrum, little resistance GI and renal toxicity limit dose Binds ergosterol causing cytoplasmic membrane holes Azoles Fluconazole, Miconazole, Itraconazole, Voriconazole, Posaconazole, Isavuconazole Inhibits ergosterol synthesis in cytoplasmic membrane Topical Rx for dermatophytes and skin Candida (clotrimazole, miconazole) Systemic Rx specific to different fungi Voriconazole is best for aspergillus Echinocandins Caspofungin, […]