Microbiology

QUESTION 1

1. You are interested in obtaining Staphylococcus aureus for a study investigating the prevalence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in the general population. You have received several samples and are ready to start your isolation procedures. Describe the personal protective equipment that would be needed and three different culturing techniques that can be used to obtain organisms to produce pure cultures.   State if you use general or selective media and which specific media you would choose. How would you determine if the culture was contaminated? What is the first step you would take if you detected contamination?

3 points   

QUESTION 2

1. Explain the different stages of syphilis. (Terminology/topics to include: causative organism (morphology, gram-stain reaction), mode of transmission, chancre, gumma, symptoms, likelihood of infection, treatment options at different stages, damage that can occur during different stages, prevention methods).

3 points   

QUESTION 3

1. List three protozoan infections of the circulatory system that are transmitted by arthropods. Include the disease name, specific organism (genus species), vector that is the intermediate between hosts, and disease progress in humans.

3 points   

QUESTION 4

1. Many types of fruits and vegetables can be fermented into alcoholic beverages.  Such was the case recently when prisoners in Utah attempted to make an illegal beverage called “pruno”; however, someone added a weeks-old baked potato to the mix, letting a microbe into the party who was clearly uninvited.  Consumers of the pruno began to develop difficulty swallowing, vomiting, double vision, and muscle weakness; three required ventilation therapy.  No deaths were attributed to the contaminated beverage.

A) What nervous system disease were the prisoners suffering from, and what was the specific organism involved? B) Based on your knowledge of this disease, what form of treatment was used to successfully avoid the worst outcomes of the disease in these patients?