A previously healthy 4-month-old female infant was admitted to the Regional Medical Center in Bristol, Tenness?
By
Question: A previously healthy 4-month-old female infant was admitted to the Regional Medical Center in Bristol, Tennessee with muscle weakness, poor sucking and feeding and weak crying. The child was immediately transported to Children’s Hospital in Johnson City, Tennessee and diagnosed with_________. Within 48 hours, the infant developed flaccid paralysis and experienced respiratory failure. The baby was given supportive therapy including use of a ventilator and recovered fully in approximately 4 weeks. Epidemiologists called in to find the source of the intoxication examined the child’s home and found that the child was being fed powdered infant formula diluted with tap water and sweetened with honey produced in the family apiary. Additional questioning revealed the presence of a 4 year-old sibling in the home. The child often “borrowed” the baby’s pacifier and played with it in the soil of the backyard. The mother testified that she had on one or two occasions simply wiped the pacifier with tissue before returning it to the infant.
1. Give the probable diagnosis.
2. What do you think is the likely source of the pathogen?
3. Design an experiment to determine the source of the pathogen. Hint: Is the organism aerobic or anaerobic? How would you culture it?
3 Comments
November 7th, 2009 at 2:06 am
1. Infant botulism
2. Honey is a cause of botulism but soil is more likely
3. Botulism is anaerobic
November 7th, 2009 at 2:39 am
1) the child had Infant Botulism
2) the source of which is Honey or soil
3) in order to properly determine the source samples of both the honey and soil would need to be taken and checked for anaerobic spores.
November 7th, 2009 at 2:57 am
1. Botulinum toxemia
2. The dirt on the pacifier and honey
3. It’s apparently anaerobic. You’d probably need a blood sample to isolate the toxin in her blood.
Edit: Agree with Mystic, soil is more likely than the honey.