Actinomyces israelii

Actinomyces israelii
Actinomyces israelii
Systematics
Department : Actinobacteria Order : Actinomycetales Subordination : Actinomycineae Family : Actinomycetaceae Genre : Actinomyces Type : Actinomyces israelii
Scientific name
Actinomyces israelii
( Kruse 1896) Lachner-Sandoval 1898

Actinomyces israelii is a gram-positive rod bacterium . It is the main germ of actinomycosis , which can be found in over 90% of all clinical isolates of this bacterial mixed infection. In addition, Fusobacterium nucleatum can often also be grown .

Actinomyces israelii was first described in 1891 by Max Wolff (1844–1923) and James Israel .

Morphology and culture

Gram-positive, non-acid-proof, anaerobic , microaerophilic, e.g. T. branched rod bacterium. Actinomycete pus contains macroscopically small granules with a diameter of about one millimeter (so-called drusen) consisting of microcolonies and a surrounding leukocyte wall .

Pathogenesis and clinical pictures

Actinomyces israelii belongs to the normal flora . The endogenous infection with the pathogen causes a cervicofacial, chronically destructive, granulomatous inflammatory reaction with frequent involvement of the face, lower jaw, neck and tongue. Fistulas and drusen are pathognomonic .

Other forms of the disease:

• thoracic actinomycosis
• abdominal actinomycosis
• genital actinomycosis
• Lacrimal sac actinomycosis ( canaliculitis )

Diagnosis

Cultivation of pus, fistula secretion, tissue and bronchioalvelolar lavage (BAL) possible. Slow growth. Colonies only visible on agar plate after two weeks . Indications of infection with Actinomyces israelii are gram-positive, branching rod colonies under the microscope and, together with the clinic, can confirm an initial suspected diagnosis. For a few years now, the polymerase chain reaction (for example the so-called BlockCycler PCR method ) has been used for the direct detection of nucleic acids of Actinomyces species in tissue samples.

therapy

Surgical excision of the fistulas and antibiotic therapy. Pathogens are usually ( amino ) penicillin- sensitive, but broad-spectrum antibiotics are often indicated due to accompanying flora . The high rate of recurrence is problematic .

literature

• H. Hengel, A. Wand-Württenberger: Microbiology and Immunology: Short textbook for the subject catalog 2 . Urban & FischerVerlag, 2004, p. 86 f.
• H. Honda, MJ Bankowski, EH Kajioka, N. Chokrungvaranon, W. Kim, ST Gallacher: Thoracic vertebral actinomycosis: Actinomyces israelii and Fusobacterium nucleatum . In: J Clin Biol , 46 (6), 2008, pp. 2009-2014, PMID 18337385

Individual evidence

1. ^ Pagel: Biographical lexicon of outstanding doctors of the nineteenth century. Berlin, Vienna 1901, Sp. 1872-1874 .
2. ↑ Hans von Kress (ed.): Müller - Seifert . Pocket book of medical-clinical diagnostics. 69th edition. Published by JF Bergmann, Munich 1966, p. 1062.
3. ↑ Reischl, Udo: Actinomyces spp. (Actinomycetes) , Regensburg, 2012.

This article is about a health issue. It is not used for self-diagnosis and does not replace a diagnosis by a doctor. Please note the information on health issues !