BUZZ, BUZZ! Oh, what terrible timing. Tom was in the middle of setting up an experiment in lab when his phone indicated that he
had a voicemail from his 3-year-old's preschool. He finished up his immediate task and checked his messages. The preschool teacher was calling to let him know that his son, Theo, had a fever of 101.7°F and that he didn't seem to be feeling well and needed to be picked up early. Tom sighed and said he would be right there. He went back into lab, diluted back his bacterial culture, put it in the incubator, and decided to do the experiment tomorrow. When he drove to preschool and picked up Theo, he noticed Theo was lethargic and sad. Tom knew that kids get all sorts of random illnesses, so he took Theo home to see if he could figure out if anything else was wrong. Because Theo was 3 years old, he was able to tell his Dad that his throat hurt a lot as he kept rubbing his throat. Theo didn't seem any to be getting any worse, so everyone went to bed. In the middle of the night, Theo wakes up to vomit (repeatedly) and complains of stomach pain.
Tuesday, March 7, 2017
After a night of not very much sleep, Tom checked Theo's temperature again and saw that it was still high. Now he saw that Theo's cheeks were flushed and there was a rash consisting of pink, slightly raised bumps (no pustules) covering his cheeks, chest, and back. Tom placed a call to the pediatrician to set up an appointment for later that morning.
Required:
a. What disease is the boy likely suffering from? Explain your diagnosis.
b. Name and describe the pathogen that causes this disease.
c. Because Theo is going to be taken to the doctor, is it likely to the fatal? What if the year was 1900? Why?
d. Explain what is causing the rash.
e. If the boy was infected with the same pathogen and had the same signs and symptoms, but did not present with a rash, what would the disease diagnosis be?
f. What treatment would the doctor prescribe? Name one example and describe the mechanism of action
g. The boy was given a prescription and started having diarrhea. Is this normal? Why or why not?
