INTRODUCTION TO

BACTERIOLOGY
(Bacteriology-I)
ACKNOWLEDGMENT

 ADDIS ABABA UNIVERSITY

 JIMMA UNIVERSITY
 HAWASSA UNIVERSITY
 HARAMAYA UNIVERSITY
 UNIVERSITY OF GONDAR
 AMERICAN SOCIETY OF CLINICAL PATHOLOGY
 CDC- Ethiopia

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Objectives (summary)
Upon completion of this unit of instruction, the student
will be able to:
 Discuss the historical background of medical
bacteriology
 Classify medically-significant bacteria according to
their phenotype and genotype
 Identify external and internal structural components
of bacteria
 Discuss bacterial genetics
 Discuss bacterial metabolism and growth
 Describe types of disinfection, decontamination and
sterilization
 Prepare and apply disinfectants and antiseptics

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Objectives (summary)
Upon completion of this unit of instruction, the student
will be able to:
 Discuss host parasite relationship and normal flora
 Describe types and principles of bacterial staining
 Perform preparation, storage & preservation of
culture media
 Discuss principles & uses of biochemical & serologic
tests
 Discuss mode of action & drug resistance of
bacterial agents
 Perform of antimicrobial susceptibility testing
 Apply laboratory quality control procedures in
bacteriology laboratory

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 CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
 Definition
 Microbiology is a subject which deals with living
organisms that are individually too small to be seen
with the naked eye.
 It considers the microscopic forms of life and deals
about their reproduction, physiology, and
participation in the process of nature, helpful and
harmful relationship with other living things, and
significance in science and industry

NB: These organisms include bacteria, algae, protozoa, fungi, and

virus

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Sub divisions of microbiology

 Bacteriology – which deals with bacteria

 Mycology- which deals with fungi
 Phycology - Which deals with Algae.
 Protozology – which deals with Protozoa.
 Virology and Rickettisiology -studies about viruses
and Rickettisia

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Distribution of microorganisms in nature

 Microorganisms can be found nearly everywhere as

normal inhabitants of the earth (biosphere).
 They exist in soil, water, air, in our food, in our clothing,
in our body etc.
 Microorganisms inhabit the surface of living human and
animal bodies and grow abundantly in the mouth and
intestinal tract.
 Microorganisms can also survive in most unlikely
environment like in cold air, in hot springs at
temperatures of 900C.

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 Actually only a small percentage microbes are
pathogenic, few are able to cause disease.

 The others are considered beneficial or harmless, or

they cause disease only if they accidentally invade the
wrong place at the right time such as when the host
immunity is low. These microbes are considered
opportunistic.
 Most of this Microorganisms that live on the human body
with out causing disease and apparent physiological
response comprise the normal flora.

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 Medical Bacteriology: - it involves the study of bacterial
pathogens, the disease caused by them, and the body’s
defenses against these diseases.
 It is also concerned with epidemiology, transmission of
pathogens, disease prevention measures, and aseptic
techniques, treatment of bacterial infectious diseases,
immunology, and the production of vaccines to protect
against infectious disease.

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Relative Sizes of Pathogenic microorganisms

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HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
 Man kind has always been affected by
diseases which were originally believed to be
visitations by the gods and meant to punish
evil doers.
 Hippocratus, father of medicine, observed
that ill health resulted due to changes in air,
winds, water, climate, food, nature of soil and
habits of people.

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• Fracastorius (1500 G.C.) proposed that the agents of
communicable disease were living germs, that could
be transmitted by direct contact with humans and
animals, and indirectly by objects;
 but no proof because of lacking experimental evidence.
• Antony Van Leeuwenhoek (1632-1723 G.C.), father
of Microbiology, observed “animalcules” using his
simple microscope with one lens.
• He was the first who properly described the different
shapes of bacteria.
 Question raised - where did they originate?

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 Although Leeuwenhoek was not concerned about
the origin of micro-organism;
 many other scientists were searching for an
explanation for spontaneous appearance of living
things from
 decaying meat,

 stagnating ponds,

 fermenting grains and

 infected wounds.

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 On the bases of this observation, two major theories
were formulated.
1. Theory of Abiogenesis
2. Theory of Biogenesis

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 Theory of Abiogenesis deals with the theory of
spontaneous generation; stating that living things
originated “spontaneously” from non-living things.

 Aristotle (384-322 BC): The founder of a theory

spontaneous generation.
He observed spontaneous existence of fishes from
dried ponds, when the pond was filled with rain.

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Biogenesis: - States that life comes from pre existing life
 Francesco Redi (1626-1697): He is the scientist who
first tried to set an experiment to disprove spontaneous
generation.
 Introduced experimental procedure to disproof
spontaneous generation
 Performed experiments that disproved theory of
Spontaneous Generation for more complex forms of
life (began approx.1668).

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Francisco Redi
 Utilized jars containing meat. Some were covered, some
were not.

 Maggots appeared in uncovered jars and conclude that

maggots did not emerge spontaneously but from the eggs
laid on the meat by the fly.
 The controversy on spontaneous generation took 200 years.
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John Needham (1749)
 Performed experiments similar to Redi’s on the origin of life in
microscopic organisms
 Utilized infusion broth prepared by boiling meat, grain, etc. to
extract nutrients.
 Introduced the first culture medium for microbial growth.
 Put broth in flasks, some were sealed with corks, and some
were not.
 All flasks became cloudy, result different from Redi’s
experiment.
 He suggested that life originate spontaneously from nonliving
matters
 The spontaneous generation opponents didn’t accept his
conclusion, they said it could be due to entrance organisms
from air or flasks, improper seal.
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Lazzaro Spallanzani (1776)
 Repeated Needham’s experiments to disproof
spontaneous generation in microscopic life.
 Boiled broth after placing in flasks.
 Sealed flasks by plugging with solid stopper.
 Results more consistent with Redi’s.
 Occasionally sealed flask  cloudy.
 Not accepted by spontaneous generation supporters,
because they said that heating may have destroyed,
degraded “vital force” and air was not allowed to enter.

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•Louis pasture (1822- 1895) was the scientist who disproved
the theory of abiogenesis once and for all.

- Performed experiment to disprove theory of spontaneous

generation.
- He designed a large curved flask/swan-necked (pasture
goose neck flask) and placed a sterile infusion broths.
- Flasks remained sterile unless tilted or neck broken.

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 * In ‘A’ air freely moved through the tube, but dust particles
were trapped in the curved portion of the flask. And no
microbial growth was observed.
.

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Therefore, Pasteur proved that microorganisms entered to
the broth with the air and micro organisms did not evolve
spontaneously
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Other major contribution of Louis Pasteur.

 Microbial theory of fermentation

 Principles and practices of sterilization and
pasteurization
 Control of disease of silk worm
 Development of vaccines against anthrax and rabies
 Discovery of streptococci.

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 The Golden Age of Microbiology
• For about 60 years, beginning with the work of
Pasteur, there was an explosion of discoveries in
microbiology.
• The period from 1857 to 1914 has been
appropriately named the Golden Age of
Microbiology.
• 1857 Pasteur-Fermentation
• 1861 Pasteur-Disproved spontaneous generation
• 1864 Pasteur-Pasteurization
• 1867 Lister-Aseptic surgery
• 1876 'Koch-Germ theory of disease
• Agents of many diseases were discovered
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The Germ Theory of diseases
 The fact that many kinds of diseases are related to
microorganisms was unknown until relatively recently.
 Pasture has developed the germ theory of diseases,
which states that “a specific disease is caused by a
specific type of microorganism”.

 Robert Koch, in 1876 established an experimental

procedure to prove the germ theory of disease, which
states that specific disease is caused by specific
pathogen. The scientific procedure is known as Koch’s
Postulate.

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Koch’s Postulate: - proof of germ theory of disease
 A Micro-organism can be accepted as a causative agent
of an infectious disease only if the following conditions
are satisfied.
1. The microorganism should be found in every case of the
disease and under conditions, which explain the
pathological changes and chemical features.
2. It should be possible to isolate the causative agent in
pure culture from the lesion
3. When such pure culture is inoculated in to appropriate
lab animal, the lesion of the disease should be
reproduced.
4. It should be possible to re-isolate the bacterium in pure
culture from the lesion produced in the experimental
animal.

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Fig. Koch’s postulate
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Exceptions to Koch’s postulate

 Some microbes are very difficult or impossible to grow in

vitro (in the laboratory) in artificial media. Eg. Treponema
pallidum.
 Some infectious disease like nephritis (inflammation of
the kidneys) can involve any of several different
pathogens
 some pathogens can cause several disease conditions.
 Many healthy people carry pathogens but do not exhibit
symptoms of the disease.
 Many pathogens are species specific. Eg. Brucella
abortus cause abortion in animals but not in humans.
 Certain diseases develop only when an opportunistic
pathogen invades imuno-compromised host. 29
Major achievements of Robert Koch

1. Discovery and use of solid medium in bacteriology

2. Discovery of causative agents of tuberculosis and
cholera
3. Koch’s postulate

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Terminology
Carrier- is an infected person or animal who don't have apparent clinical
disease but a potential source of infection to others.
Colonization- invasion of a certain part of the body by organisms
Health- a complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the
absence of disease or infirmity.
Disease- pathological condition of the body that presents with group of clinical
symptoms and signs and abnormal laboratory findings.
Epidemic- a sudden increase in the incidence of a particular disease rapidly
reaching a peak and then declining to low levels.
Endemic- the presence of a disease more or less constantly in a particular
locality
Pandemic- epidemic over a wide geographic area or even worldwide.
Causative agent- the organism that is responsible for causing an infection.
Reservoir- an animal that harbours a species of parasite that is also parasitic
for man and from which many may become infected.
Portal of exit- the route of an organism through which an infectious agent is
shed. 31
Portal of entry- the route of an organism through which an infectious agent
gets access.
Route of transmission- it refers to the route through which the disease
causing microorganism transmits from person to person or to animal.
Incubation period- the time from initial infection until the onset of clinical
symptoms of diseases.
Acute - Having rapid onset, sever symptoms and a short course
Chronic - of long duration, denoting a disease with slow progression.
Normal Flora- These are a normal inhabitant that are acquired early in life and
reside in the human intestinal track, skin, internal organ, body fluid
with out harming the patient in normal condition
Communicable versus non communicable disease
A disease is communicable (contagious) if it is spread from one
individual to another Eg. MTB
A disease is non communicable when it cannot be spread from one
individual to another.

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Transmission
Vertical transmission of a disease refers to the spread of the illness from
mother to child either in utero or during the birth process.
Eg. Trepanoma palladium and Neisseria gonorrhea respectively
Horizontal transmission: - refers to the disease spread from one person
to another by some means.
Nosocomial infection: - infection acquired in a hospital
Iatrogenic disease: - is caused by physician or medical treatment. For
example, an antibiotic used as therapy may destroy bacteria that are
sensitive to the agents but allow yeast that are resistant to the agent to
cause disease.

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