A patient who has recently come from an endemic area presents with elevated body temperature, headache, chills, malaise, that is with the symptoms which are typical for a common cold. What laboratory tests are necessary to confirm or to refute the diagnosis of malaria?

Correct Answer: A

Rationale: The correct answer is A: Microscopy of blood smears. Malaria diagnosis is confirmed by identifying the Plasmodium parasite in a blood smear. This step is crucial as it directly visualizes the causative agent. The other choices are incorrect as they do not directly detect malaria parasites. B: Studying lymph node punctate is not specific for malaria. C: Urinalysis does not show malaria parasites. D: Studying cerebrospinal fluid is used to diagnose conditions affecting the brain and spinal cord, not malaria.

Correct Answer: D

Rationale: The correct answer is D: Transcription. This is the process where the DNA sequence is copied into an RNA molecule. It is the initial step in gene expression. A: RNA splicing is the process of removing introns from pre-mRNA to create a mature mRNA molecule. B: Translation is the process of synthesizing proteins using the information from mRNA. C: Transposition is the movement of genetic elements within a genome. In summary, transcription specifically refers to the synthesis of RNA from DNA, making it the correct choice compared to the other options.

Correct Answer: A

Rationale: The correct answer is A: Bordetella pertussis. Whooping cough is caused by this bacteria, which specifically infects the respiratory tract. Bordetella pertussis produces toxins that lead to the characteristic symptoms of the disease. Haemophilus influenzae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Streptococcus pneumoniae are not the causative agents of whooping cough. Haemophilus influenzae can cause respiratory infections, Pseudomonas aeruginosa is associated with hospital-acquired infections, and Streptococcus pneumoniae is a common cause of pneumonia and other respiratory infections, but none of these bacteria are responsible for whooping cough.

Correct Answer: B

Rationale: The correct answer is B: Pseudomonas aeruginosa. P. aeruginosa is known for producing pyocyanin, a green pigment. This bacterium is commonly associated with infections in immunocompromised individuals. Staphylococcus aureus (choice A) produces golden-yellow pigments, not green. Escherichia coli (choice C) and Clostridium difficile (choice D) do not produce pyocyanin. Therefore, the correct choice is B based on the characteristic pigment produced by Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Correct Answer: A

Rationale: The correct answer is A: Leptospira. The key features pointing to Leptospira are the presence of convoluted bacteria resembling C and S letters, which is characteristic of Leptospira species. Leptospirosis presents with fever, jaundice, haemorrhagic rash, and acute renal insufficiency. The other choices (B: Treponema, C: Spirilla, D: Borrelia) do not match the histological description or the clinical presentation of the case. Treponema is associated with syphilis, Spirilla with genus Spirochaeta, and Borrelia with Lyme disease, none of which match the given scenario.

Correct Answer: A

Rationale: The correct answer is A: Ascoli ring test. Agglutination reaction in the Ascoli ring test is characterized by the formation of a visible ring at the interface of antigen and antibody. This reaction specifically tests for the presence of specific antibodies against antigens in serum, indicating a recent or current infection. The other options, Western blot, ELISA, and Reaction type Gruber, do not involve the agglutination reaction. Western blot and ELISA are immunoassay techniques that detect specific antibodies or antigens, while Reaction type Gruber is not a recognized method in immunology. Therefore, the Ascoli ring test is the correct choice for a test involving agglutination reaction.

Correct Answer: C

Rationale: Nigrosin is used in negative staining, where the background is stained instead of the cells themselves. This technique helps highlight the morphology and structure of cells that may be damaged by traditional staining methods. Nigrosin is negatively charged and repels the negatively charged bacterial cells, resulting in a clear halo around the cells. This process is particularly useful for observing capsules and determining cell size and shape. The other options are incorrect because simple staining uses a single dye to color the entire cell, gram staining involves a series of dyes to differentiate between gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria, and acid-fast staining is used to detect acid-fast organisms like Mycobacterium.

Correct Answer: B

Rationale: The correct answer is B: Bordetella pertussis. This bacterium causes whooping cough by infecting the respiratory tract. It produces toxins that lead to severe coughing fits characteristic of the disease. Clostridium botulinum (A) causes botulism, Streptococcus pneumoniae (C) causes pneumonia, and Neisseria meningitidis (D) causes meningitis, not whooping cough. B. pertussis is the only bacterium specifically associated with whooping cough.

Correct Answer: A

Rationale: The correct answer is A: Nucleoid. The bacterial genome is located in the nucleoid, a region within the bacterial cell where the genetic material is condensed and organized. This structure is not the same as a nucleus found in eukaryotic cells. The other choices (B: Nucleotide and C: ATP) are incorrect because nucleotide refers to a building block of DNA or RNA, and ATP is a molecule used for energy transfer in cells, neither of which specifically houses the bacterial genome. Choice D: None of the above is incorrect as well, as the correct term for the compact structure containing the bacterial genome is the nucleoid.