Proteus bacterium infects the urinary tract

This bacterium belongs to the family of enterobacteria. And among other representatives of this "family" such as Klebsiella and Escherichia, can provoke bad consequences. Although all three of these species often live in the body as normal inhabitants of the digestive tract. Often, the protey bacterium stays where there are people nearby - in kindergartens and hospitals.

In hospitals, this bacterium lives on the skin and mucous membranes of both patients and staff. However, diseases due to her fault are rare, the proportion of proteas among hospital-acquired infections is small. Sufferers are usually people with problem immunity (with HIV or other immunodeficiency conditions), as well as patients who have an abnormal urinary tract or those who need to insert a catheter into the urinary tract. That's when the bacterium Proteus can manifest itself.

A variety of Proteus mirabilis causes the disease most often. It has special hairs that allow it to be attached to the walls of the endothelium of the urinary tract, and to cling to the affected cells of the host organism. Often, the proteus bacteria provokes apoptosis of the cells of the host organism, as a result of uninvited guests, "flushes" along with the exfoliated dead cell of the epithelium. However, this is an unfavorable process. In addition, Proteus bacteria produces malignant urease enzyme, which increases the probability of pyelonephritis several times. So it is terrible proteus not unpleasant sensations, and potential complications.

When a bacterium enters the blood, it releases endotoxin (a fragment of the cell wall), which provokes a very strong inflammatory response. In some patients, this can trigger sepsis, although the probability is extremely small. And yet the probability of a systemic inflammatory response is possible, and the mortality with it can be 20-50% even in our time. Typically, these conditions occur in patients who spend a long time in hospitals and who constantly need to change the catheter, that is, whose urinary tract is constantly traumatized.

The bacterium proteus alkalinizes the urine, decomposing it to ammonium, thus the causative agent creates favorable conditions for himself. However, this is only half the problem. The second is that it causes the formation of unusual stones - struvite. But this is a very serious complication for people who already had to enter the catheter constantly. These stones consist of phosphates and dissolve in acidic medium. But proteium supports the alkaline medium.

Most women are infected, the probability of a disease among those with a catheter constantly is 10-15%, in the prevalence this nosocomial infection in the list is the second (after pneumonia).

How do they treat Proteus? Proteus mirabilis is sensitive to cephalosporins, which can not be said of the proteus vulgaris. Treatment in this case requires the involvement of other antibiotics, such as sulbactam and meropenem. Proteus vulgaris is less likely to cause diseases of the urinary tract.

If the patient has alkaline urine in combination with complaints of pain, this immediately leads the doctor to the idea of infection by the proteus. In this case, a two-week course of quinolones and gentamycin is prescribed, of course, not all patients are well tolerated by the latter, but it is very effective. Because it destroys not only proteus, but also other possible pathogens.

After a hospital treatment, care should be taken to minimize the need for a catheter. The patient should receive a lot of liquid, so that the process of clearing the body of the infection goes faster. Proteus is absolutely not necessary to be afraid of everyone; it affects not even everyone with problematic immunity, moreover, in hospitals it is being fought with, so Proteus is a doctor's concern, and not the patient's relatives.