Understanding Gram-Negative/Gram-Positive Bacilli, & Endotoxins

The first part of this is a classification of bacteria. The second portion is related to mold testing and bacterial toxins.



http://users.rcn.com/jkimball.ma.ultranet/BiologyPages/E/Eubacteria.html

Classification of Bacteria

Until recently classification has done on the basis of such traits as:

• shape
  • bacilli: rod-shaped
  • cocci: spherical
  • spirilla: curved walls
• ability to form spores
• method of energy production (glycolysis for anaerobes, cellular respiration for aerobes
• nutritional requirements
• reaction to the Gram stain.

The Gram stain is named after the 19th century Danish bacteriologist who developed it.

• The bacterial cells are first stained with a purple dye called crystal violet.
• Then the preparation is treated with alcohol or acetone.
• This washes the stain out of Gram-negative cells.
• To see them now requires the use of a counterstain of a different color (e.g., the pink of safranin).
• Bacteria that are not decolorized by the alcohol/acetone wash are Gram-positive.

Although the Gram stain might seem an arbitrary criterion to use in bacterial taxonomy, it does, in fact, distinguish between two fundamentally different kinds of bacterial cell walls and reflects a natural division among the bacteria.


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(Notations are emphasized by author)

http://www.usmoldphysician.com/articles/gnbacilli.html

The Mold Testing Finds
"Gram Negative Bacilli:"
What Does That Mean?

The basics are that a blue "gram stain" is merely a coloring that attaches to some bacteria and not to others. So a "negative" means it just washes away. A "bacilli" just refers to the shape of the bacteria -- it is a longer rectangular shape with rounded ends with roughly the look of a hot dog. Massive numbers of gram-negative bacilli are toxin makers, particularly making endotoxins that are in the cell wall and discussed in a Lyme endotoxins article and below.

Bacterial Toxins

Some bacteria bugs produce sickness by making troublesome chemicals.

There are two types of bacterial toxins

1. lipopolysaccharides or LPS's -- in the cell walls of Gram-negative bacteria and are part fat and sugar.
   
   This toxin is an endotoxin since it is on the outer shell or membrane of the bug.
2. proteins--released from bacteria and may hurt tissue far away from the bug.
   
   Since these poisons can travel throughout the body we call them exotoxins.

Variation in Toxins

Typically if the bug makes you deathly ill or can kill you, think toxins. Both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria can make exotoxins, the ones that can float all over.

Bacterial protein toxins are the most powerful human poisons known, even at tiny amounts. They can be more potent than snake poison in terms of lethal potential, so we are very serious about this topic!

Some articles on bacteria or mold toxins talk of "enterotoxin, neurotoxin, leukocidin or hemolysin" and all this means is the part of the body these proteins attack -- intestine cells, brain cells, white cells, red blood cells, etc.

Some toxins attack cells like neurons and others "hate everyone" in your body -- like the toxins of some staph or strept.

Bacteria protein toxins are strongly antigenic. Meaning, in the body, you will have an antibody formed to try to remove it. The process is imperfect and as we have published, some people have genes that make them poor at removing bacterial and other types of toxins.

Some terse samples:

Enterobacteriaceae inhabit intestines of humans. Some strains toxins and specifically affect the intestinal tract, causing diarrhea and body fluid loss.

Legionnaires disease or legionellosis is a pneumonia-type infection that got my attention while I was in Philadelphia in 1976 when thousands of Legion members got flu-like symptoms--twelve died. Over the following weeks, about over 150 were hospitalized with simple "pneumonia" which may hade added to 29 dying as a result. Legionnaires bacteria were isolated from the air-conditioning ducts of the hotel. It had been found in other buildings before and since. The death rate is up to about 25%.

The bacteria lives in wet, dark, dank environments--like in air-conditioning units where water sits. It has also been found in ponds, drip pan areas, showerheads, mud, hot tubs, humidifiers, misting devices, decorative fountains, etc. Chlorination does not guarantee removal. Spores can be breathed in.

Some symptoms include diarrhea, weakness, headache, muscle aches, malaise, lost appetite, a dry cough, fever increases and difficulty breathing. Some cases can also show liver and kidney involvement, but the primary location is the lungs.

Escherichia coli are rod-shaped bacteria that attack the digestive tract and hurt by a circulating toxin. Antibiotics have made stronger resistant forms.

Salmonella -- this has many forms. Some are killed by stomach hydrochloric acid -- but infants, the elderly and those on acid blockers do not have as much protection. The use of antibiotics to control Salmonella leads to such other problems as transferring their resistance to other bacteria like E. coli. The overuse of antibiotics in livestock and animal feed is why we have so much antibiotic resistance, in addition to impulsive use of antibiotics in people.

Almost all of the chickens in the US and Canada are contaminated with the Salmonella bacterium.

Campylobacter can cause of human intestinal pain.

Some Gram Negative Bacilli (Rod Shaped Bacteria)

Acinetobacter baumannii	Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans	Bordetella pertussis	Brucella
Campylobacter Francisella tularensis Legionella pneumophila	Capnocytophaga Haemophilus ducreyi Pasteurella multocida	Cardiobacterium hominis Helicobacter pylori	Eikenella corrodens Kingella kingii
Citrobacter Proteus Serratia marcescens	Enterobacter Salmonella enteriditis Yersinia enterocolitica	Escherichia coli Salmonella typhi Yersinia pestis	Klebsiella pneumoniae Shigella
Acinetobacter Xanthomonas maltophilia	Pseudomonas aeruginosa Burkholderia pseudomallei	Flavobacterium meningosepticum Burkholderia cepacia
Aeromonas	Plesiomonas shigelloides Vibrio vulnificus	Vibrio cholerae	Vibrio parahemolyticus

You will want to know the exact type of bacteria found in any building inspection to see how powerful and resistant it is to treatment. That will be an extra price. As you can see from above, knowing a bacteria in a home, school or building is a gram negative staining rod shaped bacilli does not tell you which one, or what will kill it, or what type of endotoxin it has to hurt you! So the lab will need to run further tests and you might need to send another sample if illness is a concern.

To Your Health!

Dr. J

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