Culture GAS.jpg In this photograph are colonies growing on a blood agar plate.  The organism was recovered from throat of a 4 year old child who complained of sore throat and fever. The most likely identification is:

The colonies shown in the image below grew from the CSF taken from a 75 year old male patient who experienced nausea/vomiting, fever, severe headache and stiffness of his neck. Direct smear of the CSF is also shown below. The patient was diagnosed with bacterial meningitis. Based on the information given, which of the following would you suspect as the causative agent? Alpha mucoid(1).jpgCLSC CSF 3(1).jpg

If an Enterobacteriaceae member utilizes sucrose but not lactose, what will the triple sugar iron (TSI) reaction look like?

During a recent hurricane disaster in Puerto Rico, a jaundice 7 year old boy with a history of drinking water taken from a rat-infested pond presents with a flu-like syndrome. Because of the clinical presentation and history, a urine sample was submitted for direct dark-field examination. Several spiral-shaped organisms are seen moving on the slide. The organism also grew in Fletcher’s media.  Which of the following should the physician suspect as responsible for the patient’s condition?

A 35 year old pregnant femalewith fever, chills nausea and vomiting is admitted to the hospital. On further examination, the patient seemed incoherent and confused. CSF and blood cultures are taken and sent to the laboratory for examination.  Gram stained findings on the CSF showed gram positive non-spore forming rods. The colonies produced a narrow zone of beta hemolysis on sheep blood agar; catalase was produced. Based on these findings, you would suspect:

 Both blood and urine cultures are positive for an oxidase-negative, gram-negative rod that is colorless on MacConkey agar.  Biochemical reactions include the following: TSIA                               A/A no gas and no H2S Phenylalanine deaminase:    negative Indole:                             negative Citrate:                            positive Motility:                           positive DNAse:                            positive Lysine decarboxylase:        positive Ornithine decarboxylase:    positive Arabinose:                        alkaline The opportunistic pathogen that demonstrates these reactions is:

In the Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion test, if the plates used for the antibiotic susceptibility test are thinner than the recommended thickness of 3 – 5 mm, the zone diameter will show which of the following after proper incubation?

Bartonella henselae is the causative agent of which of the following diseases?

Effective leadership in sport always requires only one, consistent leadership style regardless of the athletes’ needs.

Which of the following is a common sign of burnout in athletes?