Clinical Microbiology II (Essay Sample)

Clinical Microbiology II
Name
Institution
Clinical Microbiology II
Introduction of the case study
It concerns a woman of 38 years with fever, myalgia, and weakness. She developed to a stage of requiring mechanical ventilation. The professionals suspect case of bioterrorism and possible public health hazard. The remaining flasks cultured produced growing translucent, pinpoint and smooth colony.
Possible organism
The gram stain appears to be "boxcar" gram negative coccobacilli that appear in single cells. The cells seem to be larger than those of F. tularensis. It is coccobacilli that is not visible or pinpoint at 24 hours but grows slowly in chocolate media to appear translucent, pinpoint and smooth. It is also non-hemolytic on sheep blood agar. It is also non-motile (Balmer, 2006, pp. 36-40). More observation on the coccobacilli can lead to suspicion of Brucella species. Brucellosis affects more than 500,000 people a year and can be controlled by effective animal and public health programs (Al-Nassir, 2015).
Pathogenesis of Brucella species
Its transmission occurs in lab accidents and unsafe lab practices like sniffing of plates and petri dishes. It can also be transmitted through mouth pipetting and not using protective clothing while handling Brucella. Bosilkovski (2015) observed that increasing international tourism and migration has led to increased prevalence of brucellosis. Once the organism enters into the bloodstream, it becomes intracellular pathogen within the circulating polymorphonuclear cells (PMNs) and microphages. It thus avoids several mechanisms of bactericidal responses suppressions. It also affects more males than females.
Treatment of Brucella
Brucellosis can cause chronic debilitating illness in some patients and can reach upto 85% mortality rates in patients with congestive heart failure. Supportive care is needed as the main goal of the medical therapy is to control the symptoms as speedily as possible. Multidrug antimicrobial regimens form the mainstay of therapy due to high relapse rates observed when monotherapeutic approaches are used. Decontamination is also suggested since the patient faces bioterrorism. Isolation and decontamination measures should be undertaken together. No special diet is required for treating brucellosis but consumption of unpasteurized milk can be prohibited.
Prevention
Appropriate precautions are needed like having masks, eye protection and gloves when handling brucellosis case. Biosafety level III should be applied when handling specimens from the patients. If a vaccine could be developed to deal with brucellosis, it would be an important step towards controlling the bioterrorist activity. Eradication and/or control of the diseases in animals and handling infected animals are paramount. Public awareness and education play important roles in prevention of the organism. Consumption of unpasteurized milk and milk products, as well as raw meats should also be avoided. Protective devices should be applied to protect the patient. Management of individuals at risk should follow Bichat guidelines (Al-Nassir, 2015).
Sentinel labs and their roles in recognizing potential bioterrorism episodes
Sentinel labs have reportable disease guidelines, policies and procedures that can be followed in an event of bioterrorism attack. The labs provide lab personnel with applicable regulations for packing and shipping of infectious substances. They also have capability to perform tests outlines by medical regulatory bodies for suspected agents of bioterrorism and emerging infectious diseases. Sentinel labs help in providing helpful information and guidelines that professionals can use to treat such occurrences (APHL, n.d.).
Tests to be performed
Mayo clinic staff diagnoses and test brucell...