PLE Category: Microbiology

PLE-3907

What is the most likely cause of the liver damage and blocked bile duct in a Peace Corps volunteer who recently returned from rural Africa after undergoing general anesthesia for a knee replacement?

PLE-3908

What is the most likely cause of the symptoms in a known alcoholic who presents at the emergency department with chest pain, a fever of 40°C/104°F, chills, and a productive cough, and has no history of chronic pulmonary disease, when red blood cells and encapsulated Gram-negative rods are found in the sputum?

PLE-3909

What is the most likely diagnosis for a patient who recently immigrated from a tropical, remote, rural area with no medical care and is now working with a group of migrant crop harvesters? The patient has a large, raised, colored, cauliflower-like ankle lesion, and a tissue biopsy reveals darkly pigmented, yeastlike sclerotic bodies.

PLE-3904

What is the most common mode of transmission of Clonorchis sinensis (Chinese liver fluke) to humans?

PLE-3905

What is the most likely causative agent for a logger undergoing chemotherapy for cancer who has developed pneumonia and skin lesions, with a biopsy showing the presence of large yeasts with thick cell walls and broad-based buds?

PLE-3901

What is the mode of transmission for Schistosoma haematobium?

PLE-3902

What is the most appropriate treatment for the infection in the florist’s hand, which is believed to have resulted from a jab wound while making a sphagnum moss-wire frame for a floral wreath? The lesion has not healed despite the use of antibacterial cream, and a new nodule is forming above the original lesion.

PLE-3903

What is the most common cause of congenital infections?

PLE-3895

What is the mechanism by which quaternary ammonium compounds inactivate bacteria?