...Case Study 1: In late September a woman brings her 14 yr old daughter to the family physician. The doctor examines the back of the daughter’s thigh where there are pale red, non-raise discolorations. The rash covers a wide area of the thigh and seems to be roughly circular. The center of the circular area appears normal. There are no other symptoms, but the rash has been present for over three weeks and it seems to be growing. The doctor questions about possible exposures. Has she worn any new pants lately? Has she been in the woods? Do her joints hurt? She tells him that she spent the month of August at summer camp in the mountains of Pennsylvania. She’s been wearing mostly shorts and bathing suits for the past two months, none of them new. She doesn’t remember any bites on her thigh. 1. On the basis of the oral history, what is the most likely diagnosis? What would the causative agent look like with gram stain? Lyme Disease is the most likely diagnosis (3). Borrelia burgdorferi will show up pink with gram stain because it is gram – (1). 2. How did she most likely acquire her infection? She most likely acquired the infection from an Ixodes tick bit (deer tick) at summer camp (1). 3. Would the diagnosis be any different if she had attended camp in Arizona? Explain. She may have still gotten a tick bite, but not by the same type of tick (4). In Pennsylvania, it was more than likely by a deer tick, resulting in Lyme Disease (1). In Arizona, she could...
Words: 1219 - Pages: 5
...Vinson Lyme Disease: Historic time line: 1909- Swedish physician Arvid Afxelus observes a bull's eye rash around a patient's tick bite. 1930-1940- Swedish dermatologist Sven Hellerstrom links erythema migrans to meningitis in multiple patients. 1970- First U.S. Case of erythema migrans reported in Milwaukee, Wis. 1975- Reseachers link juvenile arthritis cases in Lyme, Conn. To tick bites. 1977- Yale rheumatologist Allen Steere provides the first definitive account of the disease 1980- The CDC begins to monitor the spread of Lyme Disease 1982- Zoologist and microbiologist Willy Burgdorfer of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Rock Mountain Lab, Mont., isolates the bacterium that causes Lyme Disease, Borrelia burgdorferi. The CDC reports 492 cases of Lyme Disease. 1984- Westchester County, NY declares a Lyme epidemic 1988- CDC reports 4,572 Lyme cases 1991- CDC requires state and local health departments nation wide to collect and verify data on Lyme infections 1994- CDC adopts two-step test standard to diagnose Lyme Disease. 1998- CDC records 16,802 cases of Lyme. Drugmaker SmithKline Beecham begins marketing Lymerix vaccine. 2002- The maker of Lymerix withdrawals the vaccine from the market after controversy over alleged side effects undercuts demand. 2006- Infectious Diseases Society of America publishes Lyme guidelines that find no convincing scientific evidence for the existence of chronic Lyme Disease. Connecticut...
Words: 759 - Pages: 4
...One: Lyme Disease: Symptoms, Diagnosis, Treatment and Prevention Abstract Lyme disease (LD), caused by the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi, is the most common tick-borne illness in the United States. Transmission occurs primarily through the bite of an infected deer tick (Ixodes scapularis). Patients with LD may have an array of symptoms affecting various body systems, depending on the stage of the disease and length of time since infection. There is a two-step testing method used to diagnose LD recommended by the Center of Disease Control (CDC) and Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA). According to guidelines from IDSA, antibiotics are recommended for all cases of LD, but length of treatment and route of administration differ, depending on stage of illness. Introduction Over the past several decades, Lyme disease (LD) has become a serious public health concern in some areas of the United States and Europe. LD, first recognized in the 1970s when it was identified as the cause of a cluster of pediatric arthritis cases in Lyme, Connecticut, has quickly emerged as a growing epidemic (Nicholas et al. 2013). The Center for Disease Control (CDC) estimates that approximately 30,000 people per year are diagnosed with LD in the US (Moore 2015). LD is the result of an infection with the spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi, which is transmitted by a bite from the tick species Ixodes scapularis and Ixodes pacificus (Nicholas et al. 2013). Transmission Lyme disease...
Words: 1485 - Pages: 6
...James Gwinn BIOL 840 Infectious Disease - Fall 16 Case Study Scenario: Earlier this week, a middle-aged man came into an urgent care facility referencing a high fever and severe chills for a couple days. He has also been experiencing muscle aches, headache, and an overall tiredness. He has not been feeling well for the past two weeks. Since the patient revealed that he did not receive a seasonal flu-shot, he was prescribed Theraflu and sent home. After a couple more days, the patient returned to the office with no improvement with additional nausea and vomiting. The doctor prescribed a simple blood test and noticed that the man was suffering from hemolytic anemia. The man is from New Hampshire and spends most of his time outdoors. He enjoys hunting, fishing, and trail-hiking. He has...
Words: 715 - Pages: 3
...symptoms of disease. Yet when these same spirochetes are transmitted to humans, they cause problems in many organ systems.Lyme disease is a tick-borne inflammatory disorder caused by a spirochete, B. burgdorferi. Its clinical hallmark is an early expanding skin lesion, erythema migrans (1), which may be followed weeks to months later by neurologic, cardiac, or joint abnormalities. The B. burgdorferi spirochete causes most Lyme disease in the United States. All stages of Lyme disease may respond to antibiotics, but treatment of early disease is the most successful. “Lyme arthritis” was recognized in November 1975 as the result of an unusual geographic cluster of children with inflammatory arthropathy in the region of Lyme, Connecticut (1). Its early elucidation—natural history (1), immunopathogenesis (2), epidemiology (2, 3), pathology(2), and therapy (3) was carried out primarily at Yale University by Steere, Malawista, and their colleagues. It soon became clear that this was a multisystem disorder (Lyme disease) (2,3) occurring at any age,in both sexes, and often preceded by a characteristic expanding skin lesion, erythema chronicum migrans (2). In 1982, B.b (2) isolated the spirochete that bears his name from Ixodes scapularis ticks collected on Shelter Island, New York, and linked it serologically to patients with Lyme disease. During almost three decades of study, much has been learned about the etiology, pathogenesis, clinical spectrum, and treatment of Lyme disease, but many...
Words: 817 - Pages: 4
...Personal Impact Paper: Lyme Disease Eric Bickhart University of Phoenix student NUR/427 August 4, 2014 Amy Highland Personal Impact Paper: Lyme Disease “Since its identification nearly 30 years ago, Lyme disease has continued to spread, and there have been increasing numbers of cases in the northeastern and north central US. The Lyme disease agent, Borrelia burgdorferi, causes infection by migration through tissues, adhesion to host cells and evasion of immune clearance” (Steere, 2004). This disease is transmitted to humans from the bite of the Blacklegged (deer) tick. It usually produces a bulls-eye rash, but not in all cases. According to National Library of Medicine (2013), "Stage 3 or late disseminated Lyme disease can cause long-term joint inflammation (Lyme arthritis and heart problems. Brain and nervous system problems are also possible" (Outlook (Prognosis)). Lyme disease has afflicted a high school basketball coach and gym teacher of a small school in Liberty, Pa at age 36. He is the father of two children and a member of a local sportsman's club. He has been dealing with the ongoing symptoms related to chronic Lyme disease for about seven years. It has been a life altering disease for a previously active young man. He reports symptoms as severe pain and swelling in all of his joints that inhibit full rotation similar to rheumatoid arthritis. Also, he has persistent severe back pain which keeps him on the sidelines during most of his career and...
Words: 1539 - Pages: 7
...issue with the increase of deer. Deer overpopulation is causing many concerns, including human health and safety concerns, ecological impacts, and economic losses. The human health and safety issues associated with deer are primarily deer-vehicle collisions and transmission of Lyme disease. “It is estimated that 29,000 people are injured and 211 lose their lives annually in deer-vehicle collisions in the United States.” (Curtis) This number continues to rise as the overpopulation of deer continues to increase. Deer are coming out of the woods for food and water which causes an increase in the number of deer in human populated areas and highways. Deer-vehicle collisions is also one of the many economic losses that is associated with the overpopulation of deer. The expense of vehicle repairs and, sometimes, medical bills, due to vehicle-deer collisions is very high. There is also the human health and safety issue associated with the deer and the concern of the transmission of Lyme disease, as well as other more serious diseases by the “Black Legged” or “deer tick”. Lyme disease can cause arthritis or joint pain in humans and permanent damage if left untreated or a long period of time. Lyme disease “can also cause heart, brain and nerve problems” in humans if not treated....
Words: 1790 - Pages: 8
...Often the eye in the affected side cannot be closed. The eye must be protected from drying up, or the cornea may be permanently damaged, resulting in impaired vision. In some cases denture wearers experience some discomfort. The common presentation of this condition is a rapid onset of partial or complete paralysis that often occurs overnight. In rare cases, it can occur on both sides resulting in total facial paralysis. Bell’s palsy is defined as a one-sided facial nerve paralysis of unknown cause. Several other conditions can also cause facial paralysis, e.g., brain tumor, stroke, myasthenia gravis, and Lyme disease; however, if no specific cause can be identified, the condition is known as Bell's palsy. It is thought that an inflammatory condition leads to swelling of the facial nerve. The nerve travels through the skull in a narrow bone canal beneath the ear. Nerve swelling and compression in the narrow bone canal are thought to lead to nerve inhibition or damage. Usually it gets better on its own with most people achieving normal or near-normal function. Corticosteroids have been found to improve outcomes, when used early, while anti-viral drugs have not.[3][4] Many show signs of improvement as early as 10 days after the onset, even without treatment. Bell's palsy is the most common acute disease involving a single nerve and is the most common cause of acute facial nerve paralysis (>80%). It is named after Scottish anatomist and Edinburgh graduate Charles Bell (1774–1842)...
Words: 735 - Pages: 3
...with colleagues. Other uses, including reproduction and distribution, or selling or licensing copies, or posting to personal, institutional or third party websites are prohibited. In most cases authors are permitted to post their version of the article (e.g. in Word or Tex form) to their personal website or institutional repository. Authors requiring further information regarding Elsevier’s archiving and manuscript policies are encouraged to visit: http://www.elsevier.com/copyright Author's personal copy Ticks and Tick-borne Diseases 1 (2010) 125–128 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Ticks and Tick-borne Diseases journal homepage: www.elsevier.de/ttbdis Original article Plasmid profile analysis of Portuguese Borrelia lusitaniae strains Liliana Vitorino a , Gabriele Margos b , Líbia Zé-Zé c , Klaus Kurtenbach b,1 , Margarida Collares-Pereira d,∗ Universidade de Lisboa, Faculdade de Ciências, Centro de Genética e Biologia Molecular and Instituto de Ciência Aplicada e Tecnologia, Lisboa, Portugal Department of Biology and Biochemistry, University of Bath, Bath, United Kingdom c Centro de Estudos de Vectores e Doencas Infecciosas Dr. Franscisco Cambournac, Instituto Nacional de Saúde Dr. Ricardo Jorge, Águas de Moura, Portugal ¸ d Unidade de Leptospirose e Borreliose de Lyme, Instituto de Higiene e Medicina Tropical, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, and Centro de Recursos Microbiológicos, FCT/UNL, Rua da Junqueira 96, 1349-008 Lisboa, Portugal b a a r t i c...
Words: 4638 - Pages: 19
...The purpose of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of four zoonotic diseases in ticks from New Hampshire. Zoonotic diseases are pathogens that can be passed from animals to humans. DNA was extracted from ticks collected in New Hampshire and tested for Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Babesia sp., Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato, and Rickettsia sp. These diseases are found all over the US, according to the CDC in 2010, Anaplasma phagocytophilum was reported to have 1761 cases, Babesia sp was reported to have 1762 cases, while Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato had the most at 30,000 cases of Lyme disease reported each year, and Rickettsia sp had 6 cases per million. Anaplasma phagocytophilum is the bacterium that causes Anaplasmosis which can be fatal if not treated correctly, a few of the several possible symptoms are fever, headache, confusion, and abdominal pain,...
Words: 853 - Pages: 4
...Microbiology Case Studies 1.1-1.8 Case 1.1 1. The fertility specialist recommended the rubella vaccine because if the rubella virus is contracted early in pregnancy there is an increased risk of miscarriage or birth defects such as deafness, cataracts, mental retardation, heart defects, liver and spleen damage. There are contraindications related to conceiving within four weeks of receiving the rubella vaccination because it is a “live” vaccine and could still cause complications. 2. In the United States it is recommended that children receive the first dose of the MMR (measles, mumps rubella) vaccination between 12-15 months (not earlier) and then to receive a second dose around 4-6 years of age. 3. The client’s description does not correlate with the rubella virus. Symptoms of the rubella infection typically only last 3 days and are often referred to as the “3 day measles”. 4. In order to check the immune status of the client the test would be checking for IgG antibodies. The absence of IgG rubella antibodies indicates that the person has likely not been exposed to the rubella virus or vaccine. IgG are also the only antibodies that can cross the placenta to protect the fetus. 5. To test for a current rubella infection using only the IgG antibody test the physician should order the initial IgG for a baseline and then perform the test again in 2-3 weeks to check if there was a significant increase (titer) present. An increase would indicate recent or current infection. Case 1.2 1...
Words: 1503 - Pages: 7
...autism and bowel disease, based on a study of twelve young children. The vaccine was developed in the 1960’s and protects against Measles, Mumps, and Rubella (German Measles). Although his claims have been proven false, the supposed link between MMR vaccine (or, in some cases, vaccines in general) and autism is still believed by many parents, and is commonly used as an anti-vaccination argument. Vaccines have also been linked to ADHD, severe allergies, and asthma, with the claim that vaccination increases the risk of a child developing...
Words: 448 - Pages: 2
...The Effects of Zoonotic Diseases Case Study #13 April 17, 2011 Zoonosis refers to an infectious disease in animals that can be transmitted to people. An animal serves as the natural reservoir for such an infectious agent, ("MedTerms," 2001). Many zoonoses, which is simply the plural meaning of zoonosis, including viruses, bacteria, and parasites can be transmitted to humans by various routes. Some of these routes consist of animal bites, vectors (i.e., insects), and animal-to-human contact (i.e., inhalation of respiratory droplets or skin-to-skin contact), (Bauman 613-14) & ("Infectious Diseases," 2009). Most emerging infections that have occurred world wide are said to be a zoonotic disease. Many of these diseases are fatal or have the potential to be fatal if not treated quickly and properly identified. An example of a zoonosis case that has the potential to arise annually is listed below: Case Study#13 “You work in a small family practice in rural VA. A man in his early 50’s comes in with a complaint of intermittent fever (102-103°F) and headache for the past two weeks. The physician examines him and takes a history. The only clinical finding is a wound about the size of a quarter on his right thumb. Axillary lymph nodes are swollen and tender. The man says he cut himself while skinning a rabbit three days ago. On the basis of these observations the physician prescribes streptomycin and asks the man to call if his symptoms don’t...
Words: 1160 - Pages: 5
...Bells Palsy Bell’s palsy is a condition that causes the facial muscles to weaken or become paralyzed. It's caused by trauma to the seventh cranial nerve, and is not permanent (There have been cases where the patient has not recovered). Bell's Palsy is not as uncommon as one might think. Worldwide statistics set the frequency at just over .02% of the population. Statistically this is one of every 5000 people over the course of a lifetime and 40,000 Americans every year [1]. Diabetics are more than four times more likely to develop Bell's palsy than the general population and the last trimester of pregnancy is considered to be a time of increased risk for Bell's palsy [2]. In 2004 I was diagnosed with Bells Palsy and it was at this point I decided that I needed to do all necessary research to make sure I would make a full recovery. Soon after diagnosis I learned that a number of factors not limited to but including; Herpes Simplex One, stress, insufficient sleep, upper respiratory infections, Rubella, Mumps, and Lyme disease could potentially cause Bells Palsy. Treatment usually consists of a physician prescribing an antiviral or steroid medication as this is thought to speed up recovery time. Symptoms usually last for less than 3 months but can last longer in extreme cases. In addition to antiviral or steroidal medication, there are alternate treatment options for someone looking to make as full a recovery as possible. One treatment, although controversial is acupuncture...
Words: 407 - Pages: 2
...How Misdiagnosis Can Impact Lives Tamala L. Tibbs Texas Tech University Health Sciences For this assignment I chose to learn more about the sub topic “Misdiagnosis” from Chapter 10 titled Physicians Ethical and Legal Issues. This chapter explores how to understand how ethics and law impact physicians everyday professional lives. There are many misdiagnosed patients more and more every year. In this paper I will go over the background of Misdiagnosis and how it affects the patient, the legal mindset of the ever growing issue, and pick apart an actual case that was misdiagnosed and the outcome that came from it. Misdiagnosis is a medical error that is a preventable adverse effect of care. This usually includes an...
Words: 762 - Pages: 4
