Case Study Exercise 8 Pure Culture Techniques

Case Study Exercise 8 Pure Culture Techniques

5. As is often the case in microbiology, many factors contribute to the progression of a case. For each aspect of the case

listed, explain its signi{icance.

The mother's vaccination status; The mother’s vaccination status is important, as babies are not vaccination until they are about 3 month’s old, so the baby’s immunity is residual from the mother’s immunity. In this case, the mother was not vaccinated; the baby had no residual immunity, leaving the child vulnerable to C.tetani.

Application of Health and Beauty clay powder to the umbilical cord:

The lack of sterilization of the clay prior to use on a child with no residual immunities left the baby vulnerable to many microbes that she would have no defenses to fight. To further add to the possibility of contamination was the repeated repackaging of the clay under unspecified sanitation procedures.

The horse pasture adjacent to the house:

Horses defecate where they eat and tetanus is transferred by animal feces, so the presence of a horse pasture increased the odds of bacterial infection by transfer.

The family dog:

The family dog had his run of the pasture and dogs like to roll in grass and shake off frequently, so transfer to contaminated soil and/or fecal material is likely, especially if the pet also was allowed in the home.

Aerobic bacteria at the umbilical cord:

The bacterium is an obligate anaerobe, capable of growth only in the absence of oxygen.

The aerobic bacteria depleted the oxygen from the wound site, giving the C.tetani bacteria an ideal environment for growth.

C. tetani: C. tetani was able toflourish, in the anaerobic environment produced by the aerobic bacteria using up the oxygen, producing the toxins that led to tetanus.