Microbiology 156

Peril in the Pinelands

Case Five

A young graduate student at Rutgers University specializing in Ecology, checked in at her college medical care center, reporting a wide spectrum of health concerns.  She had recently completed a deer population study in the Pinelands of South Jersey.  A week after her field work was completed, the student began to feel fatigued and listless. She experienced an inability to concentrate and a general feeling of malaise. She reported aches in her legs which she attributed to walking miles through the pineland forests.  The physician noted a circular " rash" about 5 inches in diameter, with a bright red edge and a dim red center with the appearance of a " bull's eye".  On physical exam, the patient had a fever of 38.5 ^o C and an irregular heart beat.  Her white blood count reflected an elevation of white blood cells, greater than 15,000 cells/cm3.  The physician ordered a test for Lyme's Disease to confirm his suspicions. 

1. What is the evidence suggests that the young graduate student has contracted Lyme's Disease?
2. What is the environmental pathway for this vector borne infection?
3. How did the student come into contact with this vector?
4. What is the basis of the blood test that confirms the presence of this organism?
5. What are the characteristics of this pathogen? (Morphology, biochemistry, and pathogenicity)
6. What precautions should the graduate student have used to avoid this disease?
7. The symptoms suggest what type of antibiotic therapy?
8. How should the treatment be followed to eliminate the possibility of serious and continuing health problems?

LINKS

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/lyme/ - CDC Lyme Disease

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/lymedisease.html - MedLine

http://www.lymenet.org/ - Lyme Disease Network

http://www.medicinenet.com/lyme_disease/article.htm - Medicine net

http://textbookofbacteriology.net/Lyme.html - Todars Textbook of Microbiology

http://www.wadsworth.org/databank/borreli.htm - Wadsworth Center