Bacterial Diseases Overview

There are many ways to organize and describe the infectious diseases, including by etiology (pathogen), mode of transmission, anatomical site affected, predominant reservoir (e.g. zoonotic) and other special considerations. In this course, we will use the etiological approach. This approach has several advantages, including clinical relevance (i.e. what lab tests may tell us) and an easier way to separate many different causes of disease. Special categories of diseases will be reinforced through cross-listing them in separate tables.

Diseases with multiple and diverse causes

Bacterial infections at times cause very specific disease syndromes that are unique enough to have their own disease designation and a single etiological cause. For instance, syphilis, gonorrhea, plague, botulism, and anthrax are fairly well defined infections in regard to their cause. Other infections are more generalized and produce anatomical syndromes, such as a sore throat or heart muscle inflammation. These syndromes usually have many different causes.

  1. Bronchitis: Mycoplasma, Bordetella, Haemophilus, S. pneumoniae
  2. Conjunctivitis: Neisseria, chlamydia, Streptococcus, Francisella
  3. Encephalitis: Listeria, Rickettsia, Treponema
  4. Endocarditis: Streptococcus, Enterococcus, Staphylococcus
  5. Epiglottitis: Haemophilus influenzae, Streptococcus pneumoniae
  6. Food poisoning: Staphylococcus, Clostridium, Bacillus
  7. Gastroenteritis: Bacillus, E. coli, Salmonella, Yersinia, Shigella, Campylobacter
  8. Keratitis: Staphylococcus, Streptococcus, Enterobacteria
  9. Meningitis: Streptococcus pneumoniae, Neisseria meningitides, Haemophilus
  10. Otitis: Pseudomonas, Haemophilus, S. pneumoniae
  11. Peritonitis: Enterobacteria, Bacteroides, Neisseria & Chlamydia
  12. Pharyngitis: Group A Streptococcus, Neisseria, Mycoplasma, Corynebacterium
  13. Pneumonia: Streptococcus, Pseudomonas, Mycobacterium, Mycoplasma, Neisseria et al
  14. Sepsis/septicemia: Staphylococcus, Streptococcus, Enterobacteria, Pseudomonas
  15. Sinusitis: Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae
  16. Urinary Tract Infections (UTI): Staphylococcus, Corynebacterium, Enterobacteria
  17. Wound infections: Pseudomonas, Staphylococcus, Bacillus

Diseases listed by causative agent

Gram-positive rods Gram-positive cocci Chlamydia, Rickettsia, Mycoplasma
  1. Anthrax
  2. Gastroenteritis
  3. Listeriosis
  4. Diphtheria
  5. Actinomycosis
  6. Acne
  7. Gas gangrene
  8. Pseudomembrane colitis
  9. Botulism
  10. Tetanus
  11. Tuberculosis
  12. Leprosy
  13. MAC
  1. Scalded skin syndrome
  2. Toxic shock syndrome
  3. Impetigo
  4. Folliculitis
  5. Carbuncles
  6. Furuncles
  7. Strep throat
  8. Scarlet fever
  9. Erysipelas
  10. Cellulitis
  11. Necrotizing fasciitis
  12. Rheumatic fever
  13. Glomerulonephritis
  14. Pneumonia
  15. Meningitis
  16. Otitis media
  1. Primary atypical pneumonia
  2. Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever
  3. Typhus fever
  4. Ehrlichiosis
  5. Q fever
  6. Trachoma
  7. Chlamydia
  8. Psittacosis
Gram-negative rods Gram-negative cocci Gram-negative curved/spiral
  1. Gastroenteritis
  2. Hemolytic uremic syndrome
  3. Salmonellosis
  4. Typhoid fever
  5. Dysentery (Shigellosis)
  6. Lymphogranuloma venereum
  7. Plague
  8. Whooping cough
  9. Tularemia
  10. Brucellosis
  11. Legionnaire's disease
  12. Bartonellosis
  13. Cat scratch disease
  14. Trench fever
  15. Granuloma inguinale
  1. Gonorrhea
  2. Meningitis
  1. Cholera
  2. Gastroenteritis
  3. Campylobacteriosis
  4. Peptic ulcer disease
  5. Syphilis
  6. Lyme Disease
  7. Relapsing fever
  8. Yaws, pinta, bejel
  9. Leptospirosis

Special Categories of diseases

Sexually transmitted diseases (STD)

  1. Chancroid
  2. Chlamydia
  3. Gonorrhea
  4. Granuloma inguinale
  5. Lymphogranuloma venereum
  6. Syphilis

Zoonotic diseases (zoonosis)

  1. Brucellosis
  2. Bartonellosis (oroyo fever)
  3. Cat Scratch Disease
  4. Lyme Disease
  5. Plague
  6. Tularemia
  7. Psittacosis
  8. Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever
  9. Ehrlichiosis
  10. Salmonellosis
  11. Campylobacteriosis

Food and water-borne diseases (food/water)

  1. Gastroenteritis (E. coli, B. cereus, Y. enterocolitica, Campylobacter, Clostridium perfringens, Vibrio parahaemolyticus)
  2. Gastritis (Peptic ulcer disease)
  3. Enteritis (Salmonellosis)
  4. Dysentery (Shigellosis)
  5. Listeriosis
  6. Botulism
  7. Food intoxication (S. aureus, Clostridium)
  8. Cholera
  9. Brucellosis
  10. Tularemia
  11. Legionnaire's disease
  12. Leptospirosis

Exotoxin-mediated diseases (exotoxin)

  1. Bacillus anthracis
  2. Bordetella pertussis
  3. Clostridium botulinum
  4. Clostridium tetani
  5. Corynebacterium diphtheriae
  6. ETEC
  7. EHEC
  8. Pseudomonas aeruginosa
  9. Shigella dysenteriae
  10. Shigella spp.
  11. Staphylococcous aureus
  12. Streptococcus pyogenes
  13. Vibrio cholerae

Vector-borne pathogens (vector)

  1. Bartonella henselae
  2. Ehrlichia spp.
  3. Borrelia burgdorferi
  4. Bartonella bacilliformis
  5. Yersinia pestis
  6. Francisella tularensis
  7. Borrelia spp.
  8. Borrelia recurrentis
  9. Rickettsia rickettsii
  10. Orientia tsutsugamushi
  11. Bartonella quintana
  12. Rickettsia prowazekii
  13. Rickettsia typhi

Intracellular bacterial pathogens and their survival strategies (intracellular)

  1. Listeria monocytogenes3
  2. Legionella pneumophila1 
  3. Mycobacterium tuberculosis1
  4. Mycobacterium leprae2
  5. Neisseria gonorrhoeae1
  6. Neisseria meningitidis2
  7. Salmonella typhimurium2
  8. E. coli (EIEC, EHEC)3
  9. Chlamydia1
  10. Coxiella2
  11. Ehrlichia1
  12. Francisella tularensis3
  13. Rickettsia3

Bioterrorism agents (link)

  1. Bacillus anthracis (anthrax)
  2. Brucella species (brucellosis)
  3. Burkholderia mallei (glanders)
  4. Burkholderia pseudomallei (melioidosis)
  5. Chlamydia psittaci (psittacosis)
  6. Cholera (Vibrio cholerae)
  7. Clostridium botulinum toxin (botulism)
  8. Coxiella burnetii (Q fever)
  9. Escherichia coli O157:H7 (E. coli)
  10. Francisella tularensis (tularemia)
  11. Rickettsia prowazekii (typhus fever)
  12. Salmonella species (salmonellosis)
  13. Salmonella Typhi (typhoid fever)
  14. Shigella (shigellosis)
  15. Vibrio cholerae (cholera)
  16. Yersinia pestis (plague)

 

Case studies