In late September a woman bring her 14 year old daughter Meg

In late September a woman bring her 14 year old daughter, Meg to the family physician. Meg shows the Dr. the back of her thigh where there are pale red nonraised discolorations. The rash covers a wide area of the thigh and seems to be roughly circular. The center of the circular area appears normal. Normal. Meg has no other symptoms, but her mother brought her in because the rash has been present for over three weeks and seems to be growing. The doctor questions Meg about possible exposures. Has she wom any new pants lately? Has shee been in the woods? Do fer joints hurt? Meg reports that she spent the month of August at a summer camp in Vermont. She\'s been wearing mostly shorts and bathing suits for the past months. None of them new. She doesn\'t remember any insect bites on her thigh. On the basis of Meg\'s oral history, what is the most likely diagnosis? What would the causative organism look like in a Gram stain? How did she most likely acquire her infection? Would the diagnosis be any different is Meg had attended camp in Arizona? Why does the doctor ask meg if her joints hurt? How is this infection treated? Meg\'s mom, upon hearing the presumptive diagnosis, declares that Meg will not return to that camp, which Meg loves and planned to attend next summer. The doctor suggests that meg need only take some precautions How can she herself from getting this infection again?

Solution

Answer 1: On the basis of Meg\'s oral history, the most likely diagnosis is Lyme Disease.Lyme Disease is caused by bacteria Borrelia Burgdorferi which when gram-stained, the cells stain a weak Gram-negative.Borrelia is a spirochete having an outer membrane that contains an LPS-like substance, an inner membrane, and a periplasmic space which contains a layer of peptidoglycan.

Answer 2:Meg acquired Lyme Disease due to the bit of infected blacklegged tick.The tick larvae feeds on infected animal upon which bacteria develops inside the tick’s gut. When the tick feeds on a host,Borrelia gains access to the host via the tick’s saliva and the host acquires Lyme Disease.

Answer 3:As Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever (RMSF) is the most common tick-borne disease in Arizona, she would have been diagnosed with this if she had continued camping.

Answer 4:The doctor asked Meg if her joints hurt because Lyme disease can trigger the immune response that can result in severe arthritis which can last for years.

Answer 5:Doxycycline (tetracycline antibiotic) 100mg by mouth for 10 days is used to treat Lyme Disease.

Answer 6: Meg should Cover up herself. When in wooded or grassy areas she should wear shoes with her long pants tucked into hwe socks, a long-sleeved shirt, a hat and gloves. She should restrict herself to walking only on trails and avoid walking through low bushes and long grass.Usage of insect repellant is also desired.