A bacteriological laboratory has been investigating a sample of homemade dried fish that was the cause of severe food poisoning. Microscopy of the culture inoculated in Kitt-Tarozzi medium revealed microorganisms resembling a tennis racket. What diagnosis can be made?

Correct Answer: A

Rationale: The correct answer is A: Botulism. The tennis racket appearance seen under the microscope is characteristic of Clostridium botulinum, the bacterium responsible for botulism. This bacterium produces spores that resemble a tennis racket shape. Botulism is a type of food poisoning caused by the ingestion of the toxin produced by Clostridium botulinum. Summary: B: Salmonellosis is caused by Salmonella bacteria, which do not exhibit a tennis racket appearance. C: Cholera is caused by Vibrio cholerae, which also does not resemble a tennis racket under the microscope. D: Dysentery is typically caused by bacteria such as Shigella or Entamoeba histolytica, neither of which exhibit the characteristic tennis racket appearance.

Correct Answer: B

Rationale: The correct answer is B: Escherichia coli. E. coli is the most common cause of UTIs due to its ability to colonize the urinary tract. It possesses adhesive factors that enable it to attach to the bladder and cause infection. Clostridium tetani causes tetanus, Mycobacterium leprae causes leprosy, and Bacillus anthracis causes anthrax, none of which are typically associated with UTIs. E. coli's prevalence in the gut and its pathogenic mechanisms make it the leading cause of UTIs.

Correct Answer: D

Rationale: Rationale: 1. Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Legionella pneumophila, Brucella melitensis can evade complete phagocytosis. 2. Mycobacterium tuberculosis inhibits phagosome-lysosome fusion. 3. Legionella pneumophila can prevent phagosome maturation. 4. Brucella melitensis can survive and replicate within phagocytes. 5. A + B + C together represent non-complete phagocytosis. Summary: - A, B, C individually cause incomplete phagocytosis. - Only when all three are present together (D) is non-complete phagocytosis observed.

Correct Answer: A

Rationale: The correct answer is A: Botulism. The tennis racket appearance seen under the microscope is characteristic of Clostridium botulinum, the bacterium responsible for botulism. This bacterium produces spores that resemble a tennis racket shape. Botulism is a type of food poisoning caused by the ingestion of the toxin produced by Clostridium botulinum. Summary: B: Salmonellosis is caused by Salmonella bacteria, which do not exhibit a tennis racket appearance. C: Cholera is caused by Vibrio cholerae, which also does not resemble a tennis racket under the microscope. D: Dysentery is typically caused by bacteria such as Shigella or Entamoeba histolytica, neither of which exhibit the characteristic tennis racket appearance.

Correct Answer: A

Rationale: Step 1: Clostridia of tetanus, botulism, anaerobic gas infection are spore-forming bacteria. Step 2: Spores are resistant structures that allow bacteria to survive in harsh conditions. Step 3: Feces contain these spore-forming bacteria due to contamination. Step 4: When feces are deposited on soil, the spores of these bacteria enter the soil. Step 5: Spores can remain dormant in soil for long periods. Summary: Choice A is correct as spore-forming bacteria enter soil through feces, which act as a source of contamination. Choices B, C, and D are incorrect as they do not involve the direct introduction of spores into soil like feces do.

Correct Answer: A

Rationale: The correct answer is A: Break down antibiotics like penicillin. Beta-lactamase is an enzyme produced by bacteria to inactivate beta-lactam antibiotics like penicillin by breaking the beta-lactam ring. This mechanism helps bacteria resist the antibiotic's effects. The other choices are incorrect because beta-lactamase does not enhance protein synthesis, facilitate DNA replication, or transport nutrients. It specifically targets and deactivates beta-lactam antibiotics, making choice A the most appropriate answer.

Correct Answer: A

Rationale: The correct answer is A because enteropathogenic E. coli (EPEC) have fimbrial adhesins that help them bind to enterocytes in the intestines, leading to colonization and infection. This is a key virulence factor of EPEC. Explanation for why other choices are incorrect: B: EPEC typically cause watery diarrhea in infants, not bloody diarrhea similar to shigellosis. C: EPEC are not part of the normal intestinal flora; they are pathogenic bacteria. D: EPEC are not invasive and do not typically produce enterotoxin; they primarily adhere to the intestinal epithelium.

Correct Answer: A

Rationale: The correct answer is A: Reinfection. This is because the patient fully recovered from the initial syphilis infection after antibiotic therapy, indicating the elimination of the pathogen. Subsequently getting infected again with Treponema pallidum suggests a new exposure to the same pathogen, resulting in a new infection. Recurrence (B) would imply the reactivation of the same infection, which is not the case here. Superinfection (C) refers to a new infection that occurs on top of an existing infection, which is not the scenario described. Secondary infection (D) typically refers to an infection that occurs after an initial infection weakens the immune system, which is not the case in this scenario.

Correct Answer: C

Rationale: Rationale: 1. The presence of ulcers in animals suggests a parasitic infection. 2. Mosquitoes as carriers indicate a protozoan transmitted through insect bites. 3. Among the choices, Plasmodium falciparum causes malaria transmitted by mosquitoes. 4. Leishmania tropica major causes cutaneous leishmaniasis, not ulcers. 5. Balantidium coli causes intestinal infections, not skin ulcers. 6. Trypanosoma cruzi causes Chagas disease, not skin ulcers.