Biology Case Study

Introduction

Campylobacter is a gram-negative responsible for bloody stool, severe diarrhea, and fever. Whereas Campylobacter has over 20, not all become responsible for human attacks. However, ninety percent of human illness arises from Campylobacter jejuni. Campylobacter jejuni is the leading cause of gastroenteritis globally (Emilisa Frirdich et al., 2017). It develops at high temperatures of 37 degrees Celcius to 42 degrees Celcius. On that note, the Campylobacter can survive in zoonotic animals along with birds having temperatures of 41-to- 42 degrees Celcius. These animals, however, are carriers of the disease without any threat of contamination (Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2019). When Pearl’s class was allowed to care for the zoo animals, the probability of contracting Campylobacter is one. Also, Campylobacter is vulnerable, leading to their intolerance to death. For example, Pearl’s classmates were free from infection because they thoroughly washed their hands, causing the demise of Campylobacter jejuni. Campylobacter jejuni’s morphology is helical, containing polar flagella. It reckons rod-shaped bacteria with a corkscrew motility to move through glutinous solutions especially the gastrointestinal tract’s mucus layer (Frirdich et al., 2017).

C. jenuni infections lead to bacteremia, septic arthritis, and extra-intestinal symptoms.

Discussion

Dating three days before the emergency hospital visit, Pearl’s class visited a petting zoo. While at the zoo, they got permission to care for the animals with strict instruction to clean their hands afterward, before taking their picnic meal. When Pearl had emergency medical visits with severe fever and acute diarrhea, the possibility of ingesting Campylobacter was at its maximum. According to Diane Esson et al. (2016), bacterial diarrhea get caused by Campylobacter jejuni that is commonly helical-shaped. Further studies show that Campylobacter jejuni, characterized by bloody stool, nausea, abdominal pains, and fever (Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2019). Also, Campylobacter jejuni has a wide-spread identity of causing more infections than other pathogens and on that note, ruling out other infectious diseases proved no hassle.

Pearl’s lab results showed she had strains of blood in her stool, and unimaginable gram-negative rods. From my fundamental perspective, these results have a direct relationship with Campylobacter symptoms. Again, Campylobacter infections get detected when a laboratory test Campylobacter bacteria in poop. According to Aboi Igwaran and Anthony Ifeanyi Okoh (2019), campylobacter species are characterized by rod-shape or spiral shape. Again, this family of bacteria has a gram-negative identity and predominantly takes over the animal’s gastrointestinal tract. Campylobacter becomes a concern due to its vast infections both in animals and humans. With as few as 500-800 bacteria consumption, humans and animals are prone to infections directly or indirectly. However, Campylobacter attack in humanity can arise from 100 bacterial pathogens (Igwaran and Okoh, 2019). On that note, the identification of numerous gram-negative rod-shaped bacteria in Pearl’s stool could be Campylobacter infection.

The Public Health department has a primary role in curbing the occurrence, spread, and control of Campylobacter jejuni infections. To successfully undertake their control operations, they must use a surveillance team to research the baseline of Campylobacter jejuni infection (Ann-Katrin Llarena, Eduardo Taboada, and Mirko Rossi, 2017). While Campylobacter jejuni commonly cause gastroenteritis bacterial, its epidemiology gets limited understanding. It is because Campylobacter jejuni infections occur at irregular intervals and lesser geographical coverage; with the few cases noticed, many remain unreported (Llarena et al., 2017). The clarification of this erupts when Pearl gets rushed for medication with symptoms of Campylobacter jejuni, whereas her classmates remain safe from infection. Like Pearl’s classmates, most people are immune to the conditions proving a challenge to assess Campylobacter jejuni’s risks.

Two molecular typing schemes get to practice when studying the epidemiology of Campylobacter jejuni; the PFGE and the Multi-locus Sequence Typing Scheme. According to Llarena et al. (2017), these two methods contribute significantly to Campylobacter jejuni’s infections on humans and common causative agents for the disease. Contrary, the implementation of these methods to custom surveillance still challenges Public Health experts. As a limitation, these typing methods prove unstable as the primary sub-typing assessment method for Campylobacter jejuni epidemiology. Therefore, the absence of thorough and structured surveillance proves a challenge when unmasking Campylobacter jejuni infections against scarce background cases.

To overcome the limitations of current typing methods, new generation of reliable tools for epidemiological scrutiny is necessary. On that note, the invention of the WGS typing scheme can potentially investigate Campylobacter jejuni’s outbreak. However, before implementing the WGS typing method, comprehending Campylobacter jejuni’s ecological structure and genomic assortments in human infection is an essential (Llarena et al., 2017). Critiquing the form of the bacteria helps determine the quarantine area of Campylobacter jejuni and possible cause in case of an outbreak. Thus, the implementation of the WGS typing method aids in the comprehension of the development and epidemiological patterns of Campylobacter jejuni’s infections.

Campylobacter jejuni infections pose a worldwide concern. Whereas middle-class economic countries have an inexact number of infections, high-end countries estimate of 250 infections per 1000 population. On that note, a period of 1996 to 2012, the United State Food-Borne Diseases Active Surveillance Network, verified a yearly report of 14.3 per 100,000 populations for Campylobacter infections. The large numbers of infections arouse the mentality to treat this contagious ailment. Public Health experts actively recommend the replacement of fluid and electrolyte for patients infested with Campylobacter jejuni. In dehydrated patients, an expansion with intravenous fluids is a necessity. Treating Campylobacter jejuni seems simple, but only if the patient lacks pre-examined condition.

For patients such as Pearl, who had fever and diarrhea, antibiotic therapy can limit further infection (Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2019). While the most patient can recover without treatment, drinking a large quantity of fluids get recommendation for prolonged diarrhea. In cases where antibiotic treatment is necessary, doctors conduct lab tests to examine the appropriate antibiotic for the medication (Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2019). For example, the doctors took Pearl’s stool for a lab test to determine which Campylobacter bacteria had infested in her; afterwards, a probability of antibiotic prescription was one. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (2019), when the antibiotic prescription is relevant for patients, they should consume the drugs as health professionals direct.

While Campylobacter infections are self-limited, treatment gets recommended to minimize severe symptoms, curb high fever, and treat bloody diarrhea. Also, treating Campylobacter jejuni helps to reduce the possibility of eight stools in 24-hours. From a medical perspective, antibiotic treatment limits further carriage of Campylobacter jejuni. Assuming Campylobacter jejuni’s symptoms can lead to diverse complications. On that note, the diverse complications are septicemia, meningitis, bladder inflammation, and appendicitis. Sadly, this contagious bacteria can also cause urinary tract infections; when the symptoms become latent.