Plasmodium Falciparum

Kristin Allen

Microbiology 204

Case Study: Plasmodium Falciparum

26 July 2014

Rebecca Hathaway is a 54 year old woman, with a career path that lead her into the education field. Mrs. Hathaway is a high school English teacher during school months and is highly involved with her church, especially during the summer months were she is free. She often is present on the yearly mission trips that her church organizes. Recently, Mrs. Rebecca Hathaway scheduled an appointment with her physician, stating that she was feeling under the weather. Upon visiting with her physician, Mrs. Hathaway reported symptoms such as a high fever, chills, headaches, sweats, fatigue, as well as nausea and vomiting. The physician noted elevated respiration levels and perspiration. Based on Mrs. Hathaway reporting’s, the anatomical diagnosis is not confined to one specific area of the body, however has been mostly affecting her abdominal area. She informed the physician that the symptoms began while she was in Chad, Africa on a mission trip, but she did not feel that it was simply a reaction to the new atmosphere, because she did not begin feeling ill until about 16 days after arriving in Chad.

“Recently, I have been feeling extremely ill, kind of flu like symptoms, however I cannot seem to overcome this. I have been experiencing these same symptoms for nearly 2 months”, said Mrs. Hathaway.

Being that all of the symptoms that Rebecca reported are common of many pathogens, some of the pathogens that commonly affect this part of the body are: Early stages of Meningococcal Septicemia, Brucella abortus, Brucella melitensis, Brucella suis, Cholera, Cryptosporidiosis, Malaria, Schistosomiasis, and tuberculosis, Escherichia coli (some serotypes), Salmonella