Group B Strep Lab Report

Christine Le, an accountant living in Flushing, New York, gave birth to a healthy baby “Nathan” on January 29th, 2010. She found out that she was pregnant with her first child when her period was late. She had the routine prenatal care starting at 12 weeks and delivered at 40 weeks in a hospital with the present of her husband, Robert, and the in-laws. To insure her baby was healthy, Christine underwent several prenatal diagnostic methods like amniocentesis to examine for genetic defects. Another method was ultrasound; its purpose is to assess fetal age, multiple pregnancies, size and shape of the fetus. Christine underwent numerous lab tests to ensure that there are no complications (Berk, pg.43). Lab tests like a complete blood count that screens

Last january, I caught a disease called strep throat. I felt terrible and just wanted to sleep. I went to the doctor. She gave me some medicine. The doctor gave me a strep test and it was positive. At first, my throat felt sore and itchy. Strep throat is very contajus, so I got to stay home for a few days. After a week, my throat cleared up and I felt much better. It was great to feel healthy again.

After precisely conducting the experiment and tabulating the results, data for Paraquat toxicity upon P. vulgaris plants can be interpreted over several different parameters. The parameters by which Paraquat toxicity was examined within this experiment involve visual observations, x-ray diffraction, chlorophyll concentrations, protein concentrations, and lastly malondialdehyde (MDA) concentrations on a per mg of protein basis. As stated before Paraquat is very widely used herbicide known to produce superoxide anions leading to chloroplast membrane damage and ultimately a variety of adverse effects upon the host organism, in this case P. vulgaris (Chia et al., 1982).

Citrobacter Freundii is a species of bacteria that can be potentially harmful to humans. It is known to cause meningitis by protruding into the brain and replicating itself (1). The Citrobacter species has also been found as a cause of some urinary tract infections, diarrhea, and even gastrointestinal diseases and symptoms (3). C. Freundii can be located in a wide variety of soils and water (3). Lastly, it is also the cause of many nosocomial infections due to its presence in water (1).

Bacteriophages were first discovered about 100 years ago by Frederick Twort and Felix D'Herelle. Bacteriophages or commonly known as “phages” are viruses that infect bacterial hosts. Bacteriophages come in multiple shapes and sizes. But a good amount of them are tailed viruses that contain double stranded DNA. The head of the bacteriophages has a protein shell which is attached to the tail. Some phages differ as some don’t have double stranded DNA they may be single stranded. Phages are incapable of reproducing on their own. In fact, they need a bacterial host to reproduce. Like any virus, bacteriophages are very fixed to discrete hosts. The host bacteria that we are using is called arthrobacter. Arthrobacter is a genus of bacteria found in soil (Pope et al 2016). Arthrobacter can help reduce hexavalent chromium which can cause some symptoms such as irritations to humans. Hexavalent chromium may also cause lung cancer if inhaled. The SEA PHAGE project was broken down into two parts. The first part which we are currently doing is isolating, purifying and amplifying the bacteria from our soil samples that we collected in the beginning of the year.

Randomization was used to generate what patient went to which group. The way the patients were chosen eliminated bias because “Randomization was performed according to a computer-generated list by means of sequentially numbered, opaque, sealed envelopes which revealed the allocation of the subject to either induction or expectant management”(Nielsen et al. p. 60). This secure randomization added a great strength to the study. The sample size seemed fairly large, 226 patients were split into 116 for elective induction and 110 to expectant management, although the power analysis was disclosed in this study and determined that 600 patients were required. Only 226 patients were used and because it would take 4 years to reach the required amount of patients, the study was discontinued. This was both a strength and weakness because disclosing this information made the study more honest but the quota needed to reach the best answers was not attained. The study for the 226 patients was pretty standard with the 80% power and alpha at 0.05. T-test and chi square tests were used to compare the proportions between the groups of people. The women were chosen based on the inclusion criteria of being 39 weeks gestation or older, maternal age of more than 17, fetal cephalic presentation, singleton gestation, a candidate for vaginal delivery, and a Bishop score of 5 or greater in nulliparous women and 4 or greater for multiparous women. This inclusion criterion was a concern because both nulliparous women and multiparous women were being tested together. This was a weakness because the labor patterns of a nulliparous woman compared to a multiparous woman are very variable and sure to distort study data. It was also disclosed how gestational age was achieved which included the crown rump test measured in 6-12

Streptococcus pyogenes, also known as Group A streptococcus (GAS), is a β-hemolytic, Gram-positive bacterium that most commonly causes respiratory disease, including pharyngitis or tonsillitis, as well as skin infections such as impetigo and cellulitis. The organism is transmitted via respiratory droplets or by contact with fomites, and commonly infects young children. In addition to the common clinical presentations associated with S. pyogenes, some individuals develop the postinfectious sequelae of rheumatic fever and glomerulonephritis. Due to the severity of these medical consequences, prophylactic antibiotic use is often recommended for any patients with otherwise mild S. pyogenes infections (21).

In the world of microbiology it is vitally important to be able to discern the identities of microorganisms. Not only is it important in a lab setting but as well as in healthcare in general. Properly identify what strain of bacteria a person has will aid in the proper medicine and dose given. Throughout the semester we have learned about different types of bacteria and certain test that can clearly identify them. The purpose of this lab report is to identify a Gram-positive or Gram-negative bacterium. Using all the knowledge of procedures and lab techniques identify the unknown and discuss all the tests you performed.

S. pyogenes infections may vary from mild to life-threatening with a plethora of symptoms due to the many types of infections it causes. This bacterium is responsible for the diseases of pharyngitis, rheumatic fever, impetigo, erysipelas, cellulitis, necrotizing fasciitis, acute poststreptococcal glomerulonephritis, and toxic shock syndrome, just to name a few. Each of these infections has its own unique set of symptoms as will be explored in depth below.

The online article discusses the spread of diseases amongst students in close quarters with relation to a recent study on staph infections. General demographics give examples of how a disease such as staph can spread between students rapidly in their limited environment. A specific study on staph resistant to medicine references statistical data that implies real-life scenarios. Powers elaborates on the idea that staph infections on campuses are not a major concern, but a concern nonetheless as long as students live in a communal setting. The author implies at the end of the article that the most precedent concern with staph infections lay in better upkeep of hygiene facilities used by students as students in these environments are completely

Currently, the patient suffers from seasonal allergies and recurrent otitis media. He subsequently received PE tubes in 2013 and has had no further complications. His father has hypertension and hypercholesterolemia and is age 30. His mother reports suffering from seasonal allergies. His father has one brother who has hypertension and one sister who has a negative medical history. His mother has two brothers, both of whom have hypertension. The child’s paternal grandfather has hypertension and hypercholesterolemia. His paternal grandmother has hypertension and diabetes mellitus (type 2). His maternal grandparents both have hypertension. Currently, his mother is pregnant and is to have a daughter.

Plate B incubated at 25oC produced a white, opaque, waxy, and spreading bacteria colonies while plate A incubated at 37oC produced a white, thin spreading bacteria colonies (Figure 1.). Gram staining revealed that plate B contained a rod-shaped bacterium having partial pink and purple coloration with endospores. This suggests that the bacteria is a gram positive bacteria. Gram positive bacteria typically have a thick cell wall which traps the crystal violet making them appear purple. Conversely, plate A is a rod-shaped bacterium but with pink coloration.

Klebsiella pneumoniae is a gram-negative bacilli bacterium 0.3-1.0um in diameter and 0.6-6.0 um in length. Cells are capsulated and arranged in pairs or in short chains. K. pneumoniae can cause different types of healthcare associated infections that include pneumonia, blood, and wound infections along with meningitis. K. pneumoniae is normally found in the intestines of human stool. Infections are most common with people who require ventilators, intravenous catheters or patients taking long courses of antibiotics. The primary portal of entry is through the respiratory tract to cause pneumonia or through the blood to cause bacteremia. People with healthy immune systems usually do not get k. pneumoniae infections but should

pregnancies with abnormalities.“This is a test done during pregnancy to get information about the fetus

There are three ways that a mother can be tested during pregnancy to see if their child will have Down syndrome. One is amniocentesis, which is the removal and analysis of a small sample of fetal cells from the amniotic fluid. Amniocentesis can not be done until the 14-18th week of pregnancy and with this process there is a lower risk of miscarriage than with the other two processes. Another process is chorionic villus sampling (CVS), which is the extraction of a tiny amount of fetal tissue at 9 to 11 weeks of pregnancy. The tissue is then tested for the presence of extra material from chromosome 21. Chorionic villus sampling has a 1-2% chance of the mother having a miscarriage. The last process is percutaneous umbilical blood sampling (PUBS), which is the most accurate method used to confirm the results of CVS or amniocentesis. During PUBS the tissue is tested for the presence of extra material from chromosome 21. PUBS cannot be done until the 18-22nd week and it carries a high risk of the mother having a miscarriage.