Microbiology: Description of the Organism

Discuss about the Microbiology for Description of the Organism.

1. Based on Maria’s history, presentation, and the description of the organism, the parasite, which is causing the problem, is Giardia lamblia. It is a protozoan parasite and is flagellated.  In the small intestine, it colonizes, reproduces, and results in giardiasis. It reproduces by means of binary fission (Eyre et al., 2013).

2. From Maria’s history, it was significant that she did a fieldwork in Colorado with animals as well as with the contaminated water. The symptoms of Girdia lamblia occur one to three weeks prior to the entry of the parasite in the body of the host. Her timeframe of the trip to Colorado matches and the beavers harbor this parasite, resulting in ‘beaver fever’ (Melo et al., 2016).

3. The term, which is used, for the centrally located bands often seen in this organism is Axostyle. It provides support to the cell and is involved in the motility (Eyre et al., 2013).

4. The other intestinal parasites that the physicians might have suspected include Cryptosporidium parvum, which leads to outbreaks related to water. Entamoeba histolytic and Cyclospora cayetanensis have similar symptoms and are more common in the tropical areas, but the patient history does not match with these two organisms (Melo et al., 2016).

5. There recommended timing between the kits varies. Generally, three specimens are collected for increasing the chance of detecting parasite since parasites shed erratically. It is frequent for the patients for experiencing the symptoms prior to the the appearance of the parasites in the stool (Eyre et al., 2013).

6. Both methods are suggested because concentrate-wet mounts can show motility bit is does not help in identifying the trophozoites and cysts features. They are quick as well as easy to perform. When positive, it shows parasitic burden and in some cases, it may not concentrate accurately (Melo et al., 2016).

7. The disease process, which was suspected by the physician, when the C. difficile essay was ordered, includes Clostridium difficile infection. It results due to the the destruction of the normal flora by the antibiotics which allows this organism to over grow. It is usually transmitted through the faecal route (Eyre et al., 2013).

8. Maria took old antibiotics, when she had a feeling of illness. She could have a minor diarrhoea and stomachache, but the antibiotics might have destroyed the normal flora and allowed C.difficle to grow more (Melo et al., 2016). 

9. Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) assays.

• It denatures the DNA present in the sample and separates the chains by increasing the heat.
• Addition of primer to the sample for binding the specific genes of interest
• Copying of the sequence of DNA by the DNA enzyme and resulting in the formation of two double stranded DNA (Melo et al., 2016).
• Repeating the for 30 to 40 cycles resulting in the formation of DNA having billion copies 

10. The culture method is the most sensitive test and is considered as a golden standard for the detection of C. Difficile. It requires 2 to 3 days for growing. It does not distinguish between infection and colonization. On the other hand, PCR tests are rapid and sensitive (Eyre et al., 2013). 

References

Eyre, D. W., Cule, M. L., Wilson, D. J., Griffiths, D., Vaughan, A., O'Connor, L., ... & Wyllie, D. H. (2013). Diverse sources of C. difficile infection identified on whole-genome sequencing. New England Journal of Medicine,369(13), 1195-1205.

Melo, S. L., Cavalcante, U. M., Dantas, S. H., Rocha, H. A., Souza, T. C., & Luna, C. B. (2016). Patients’ profiles and the factors related to intestinal parasites. Journal of Nursing UFPE on line [JNUOL/DOI: 10.5205/01012007/Impact factor: RIC: 0, 9220], 10(8), 2809-2817.