CASE HISTORY
Jennifer,age 23,had just graduated from college with a Fulbright fellowship to study sociology in Africa.Before leaving the United States,she obtained a routine physical exam at a large city hospital.Upon returning home from the hospital,she developed a swelling in her leg.When she returned to the hospital,she was told that the swelling represented an allergic reaction and was given anti-inflammatory agents.The swelling grew,and within a day the skin ruptured with a bloody discharge.Upon return to the emergency room,Jennifer at last received the correct diagnosis of methicillin-resistant staphylococcus infection (MRSA).A nurse commented that hospital visitors can acquire MRSA;the infectious agent is endemic at many hospitals in the United States and is very difficult to eradicate.She showed Jennifer a micrograph of the bacteria,Staphylococcus aureus,which septate in alternating division planes,thus forming clusters of cells.Jennifer required many weeks of treatment with the antibiotics doxycycline and clindamycin (inhibits protein synthesis)before the infection resolved,and she had to postpone her fellowship for a year.
Methicillin,the antibiotic to which MRSA is characteristically resistant,targets the cell wall.Discuss the structure of the cell wall in a bacterial cell like those of MRSA and how antibiotics can target this structure without harming the patient.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The Answer of CASE HISTORY
Jennifer,age 23,had just graduated from college with a Fulbright fellowship to study sociology in Africa.Before leaving the United States,she obtained a routine physical exam at a large city hospital.Upon returning home from the hospital,she developed a swelling in her leg.When she returned to the hospital,she was told that the swelling represented an allergic reaction and was given anti-inflammatory agents.The swelling grew,and within a day the skin ruptured with a bloody discharge.Upon return to the emergency room,Jennifer at last received the correct diagnosis of methicillin-resistant staphylococcus infection (MRSA).A nurse commented that hospital visitors can acquire MRSA;the infectious agent is endemic at many hospitals in the United States and is very difficult to eradicate.She showed Jennifer a micrograph of the bacteria,Staphylococcus aureus,which septate in alternating division planes,thus forming clusters of cells.Jennifer required many weeks of treatment with the antibiotics doxycycline and clindamycin (inhibits protein synthesis)before the infection resolved,and she had to postpone her fellowship for a year.
Methicillin,the antibiotic to which MRSA is characteristically resistant,targets the cell wall.Discuss the structure of the cell wall in a bacterial cell like those of MRSA and how antibiotics can target this structure without harming the patient.