1-year-old eskimo child, melissa, was admitted to a hospital in alaska following a seizure and is limp and unresponsive. her mother tells the physicians that the child had a runny nose earlier in the day and has been suffering from a cold for several days since beginning her enrollment at a daycare center. on closer examination, the patient is found to have an elevated temperature, rapid pulse, and supple neck. overnight her neck becomes stiff, and blood and cerebrospinal fluid cultures are positive for gram-negative coccobacilli, which look like "rice grains" under the microscope. the bacteria need to be cultured under special conditions on blood and chocolate agars.
what organism is causing melissa’s condition? what led you to this diagnosis?
how has melissa contracted her infection?