Question

A 27-year old man was mowing his field when he ran over two young rabbits. When he stopped his mower, he realized that two other rabbits were dead in the un-mowed part of the lawn. He removed all the rabbits with a shovel and buried them. Three days later, he developed a fever, muscle aches, and a dry, nonproductive cough. Over the next 12 hours, he became progressively sicker and was transported by his wife to the area hospital. Results of a chest x-ray showed infiltrates in both lung fields. Blood cultures and respiratory secretions were collected, and antibiotics were initiated. Blood cultures became positive with extremely small gram-negative rods after 3 days of incubation. The organism failed to grow on MacConkey agar. 11. Which of these terms describes this infection? a. Nosocomial b. Zoonotic c. Epidemic d. Endogenous e Psychosomatic 12. What is the most likely causative agent? a Legionella pneumophila b. Brucella abortus c. Yersinia pestis d. Francisella rularensis e Escherichia coli 13. From where did this person most likely get his infection? a. Penetration of the organism through intact skin b. His own normal flora c. Hand to mouth transmission d. Inhaled aerosol c. Deep puncture wound 14. How is this organism usually identified in the laboratory? a Catalase and coagulase b. Oxidase and TSI reaction c. A battery of carbohydrate tests d. Requirement for X and V factors e Referred to a reference lab for molecular testing 15. Which form of this disease is most common? a. Ulceroglandular from a tick bite b. Oculog landular c. Pneumonie d. Oropharyngeal e. Gastrointestinal

Answer 1

This infection is likely a zoonotic infection.

The most likely causative agent is Francisella tularensis.

This person likely got his infection from inhaling an aerosol.

This organism is usually identified in the laboratory using a battery of carbohydrate tests.

The most common form of this disease is pneumonic.