Chika Ejikeugwu

MICROBIAL DISEASES TRANSMISSIBLE THROUGH THE SOIL

Microorganisms are ubiquitous and are thus found everywhere including the soil. The soil no doubt is inundated with a wide variety of microorganisms including those that are pathogenic to humans, plants and animals and even microbes that are of immense industrial and economic importance to mankind and his environment. For example, the first commercial antibiotic […]

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HOST-PARASITE RELATIONSHIPS (MICROBIAL ASSOCIATIONS)

DrChika

A host-parasite relationship is an association that exists between two organisms known as the host and the parasite, in which both organisms either derive benefit from the relationship or is harmed in the process. Microorganisms are ubiquitous, and they often exist in association with other forms of life in their ecological niches including man, plants

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Environmental & Soil Microbiologyamensalism, amensalistic effects, commensalism, competition, cooperation, environmental microbiology, host, host-parasite relationship, microbial association, mutualism, parasite, parasitism, predation, symbiosis, Symbiotic association

Environmental Microbiology

DrChika

Environmental microbiology is the study of microbial processes in the environment, microbial communities and microbial interactions with other living organisms in the environment. Environmental microbiology is the branch of microbiology that studies the role of microorganisms in the maintenance of a healthy, quality, and sustainable environment. It is the study of the composition and physiology

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Environmental & Soil Microbiologybioremediation, environment, Environmental microbiologists, environmental microbiology, soil bacteria, soil microbiology, soil microorganism

OUTPUT OF ANTIMICROBIAL DRUG SUSCEPTIBILITY TESTING

DrChika

The output of an antimicrobial drug susceptibility test is often expressed as raw data which are either expressed in the form of a zone size/diameter or minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC). The Clinical Laboratory Standard Institute (CLSI) formerly known as National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standard (NCCLS) has published interpretation criteria for different antimicrobial agents. This

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Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing (AST) & Antibiogram, Microbe LabAntibiogram, CLSI, intermediate, NCCLS, resistance, resistant, susceptibility, susceptible

Overview of antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) / Antibiogram

DrChika

When a pathogenic microorganism is isolated from the specimen of a patient, the clinical microbiology laboratory will often carry out in vitro antimicrobial susceptibility testing (antibiogram) on the isolated pathogen in order to determine the antimicrobial susceptibility profile of the microbe to a range of antibiotics/drugs using antibiotic susceptibility disks, so that treatment can be

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Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing (AST) & Antibiogram, Microbe LabAntibiogram, antimicrobial susceptibility testing, AST, sensitivity test, susceptibility testing

CEPHALOSPORINS

DrChika

Cephalosporins are beta-lactam antibiotics that are penicillinase-resistant, and with related mode of action to the penicillins. Drugs in this category are clinical substitutes for penicillins due to the development of resistance to the later by pathogenic bacteria. Cephalosporins are classified into four (4) generations based on their spectrum of activity, side chain modifications and clinical

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Antimicrobial Agents & Antibiotics, Pharmaceutical Microbiologybeta lactam agents, beta lactams, cell wall inhibitors, cephalosporin, cephalosporins, fifteh generation cephalosporin, first generation cephalosporin, fourth generation cephalosporin, second generation cephalosporin, third generation cephalosporin

PENICILLINS

DrChika

Penicillins are beta-lactam drugs that inhibit the cross-linking of N-acetyl glucosamine (NAG) and N-acetyl muramic acid (NAM) required for the formation of peptidoglycan in bacterial cells. They are generally bacterial cell wall synthesis inhibitors. Penicillin, the first member of the penicillins is a general purpose antibiotic used in clinical medicine even till date. They specifically

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Antimicrobial Agents & Antibiotics, Pharmaceutical Microbiologybeta lactam, beta lactam agents, cell wall inhibitors, murein, penicillin, penicillins, Penicillium, Penicillium notatum, peptidoglycan

CLASSIFICATION OF ANTIBIOTICS BASED ON SPECTRUM AND MECHANISM OF ACTION

DrChika

Antibiotics can also be classified into different categories depending on their mode of action and/or spectrum of activity. BETA-LACTAM ANTIBIOTICS Beta-lactam antibiotics are group of naturally-synthesized antibiotics that inhibit the synthesis of cell wall in bacteria. Some later beta-lactam drugs such as methicillin, ampicillin and amoxicillin amongst others are synthesized by chemical processes. Beta-lactam drugs

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Antimicrobial Agents & Antibiotics, Pharmaceutical Microbiologyaminoglycosides, antimetabolites, beta lactams, fluoroquinolones, macrolides, quinolones, sulphonamides, tetracycline

ANTIBACTERIAL AGENTS

DrChika

Antibacterial agents are specifically chemical agents that kill or inhibit the growth of pathogenic bacteria. They are generally known as antibiotics. Antibiotics are complex chemical and natural substances that are secreted by some group of microorganisms (especially fungi, protozoa and bacteria), and which have the ability to either kill or inhibit the growth of other

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Antimicrobial Agents & Antibiotics, Pharmaceutical Microbiology

SPECTRUM OF ACTIVITY OF ANTIMICROBIAL AGENTS

DrChika

The growth of pathogenic microorganisms is usually accompanied by the synthesis of new molecules including DNA, RNA and proteins. Microorganisms also acquire nutrient molecules from their surrounding environment or growth medium as their cells multiply and divide either in vivo or in vitro. Every drug has particular target site on pathogenic microorganisms when administered; and

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Antimicrobial Agents & Antibiotics, Pharmaceutical Microbiologyantibiotics, antimicrobial agents, bactericidal agents, bacteriostatic agents, broad spectrum drugs, cidal, narrow spectrum drugs, selective toxicity, spectrum of activity, static, therapeutic index