Infectious Conjunctivitis: Case Study and Micro-Organism Analysis

Running Head: CASE STUDY
CASE STUDY
Name of the Student:
Name of the University
Author Note

CASE STUDY1
Background of the case study
What is infectious conjunctivitis?
Conjunctivitis is a disease occurs due to inflammation on the membrane that covers
the entire surface of the eyeball. Infection or irritation in the eye is the reason of
this disease. It can have partial relation with systematic disease such as Reiter
syndrome.
Infectious conjunctivitis is the cause of inflammation in the conjunctiva. It usually
caused by virus or bacteria. The patient suffers from redness of the eye, tearing,
and white sticky discharge. Some patients also suffer from sensitivity from light. In
the Case study of John, it has been found that John is suffering from infectious
conjunctivitis. John’s eye was found red and swollen with white sticky discharge.
Of the four micro-organisms listed below, justify which one is more likely to be the cause of
John’s eye infection. Indicate why the other micro-organisms from the list are least likely to
cause the infection.
Legionella pneumophila
Yes or no, with reason:
This micro-organism has no link with John’s eye infection.Legionella
pneumophila is a type of bacterium belongs to the genus group of Legionella.
Pneumophila is the agent present in this bacteria which causes Legionnaries
diseases in human body. Presence of this micro-organism results into symptoms
that includes cough, shortness of breath, feeling of nausea, and some minor mental

CASE STUDY2
changes. According to the case study of John, the examined symptoms do not
match with the above mentioned symptoms. It also indicates that this micro-
organism is not responsible for any infectious disease in human body.
Plasmodium ovale
Yes or no, with reason:
Plasmodium ovale also has no link with John’s eye infection as it is a parasitic
protozoa usually responsible for malaria. Plasmodium parasites infects human
being with inclusion of Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax that are
responsible for majority of the malarial infections. Anopheles mosquitoes are the
bearer of these parasites that affects the liver.
Adenovirus
Yes or no, with reason:
Adenovirus is responsible for multiple types of illnesses. It can cause cold,
soreness in throat, bronchitis, pneumonia, diarriah, and pink- conjunctivitis. It is
mentioned that Adenovirus can be a cause of conjunctivitis and it is very much
common for children and aged people. However in this case of John Adenovirus is
not the responsible micro-organism. After the medical examination procedure, the
doctor suggested gentamicin that has no effect on viruses. John is suffering from
bacterial conjunctivitis as the medicine has the mechanism of reducing bacterial
infections.

CASE STUDY3
Staphylococcus aureus
Yes or no, with reason:
Staphylococcus aureus is responsible for infectious conjunctivitis in most of the
cases. Staphylococcal species along with Streptococcus pneumoniae and
Haemophilus influenza is the commonly found pathogens for this. As per the
literature analysis, symptoms of acute bacterial conjunctivitis caused by
Staphylococcus aureus includes red-eye, purulent sticky discharge from eye, eye
pain and irritation. John has been diagnosed with the same.
Mechanism of action and adverse reactions
Describe the mechanism of action of gentamicin?
Gentamicin is a broad-spectrum aminoglycoside bactericidal antibiotic.
Gentamicin employs the function when the infectious conjunctivitis is caused by
bacteria. The mechanism of gentamicin includes prevention of bacterial
translation. The components of Gentamicin strongly binds to the 30S-subunit and
16S ribosomal RNA of ribosome, thereby causing interruption in the composition
of initiation complex. Being an aminoglycoside, gentamicin "irreversibly" binds to
30S-subunit proteins and 16S ribosomal RNA. In detail mechanism of action
includes binding of gentamicin with four nucleotides of 16S ribosomal RNA and
an amino acid of protein S12 (Bullock & Manias, 2017). This constrains the
interpreting site approximately nucleotide at the 1400th position in 16S rRNA of
30S subunit of ribosome. It also interacts with the wobble base in the anticodon
position of transfer RNA, prying the formation of initiation complex. This causes
misreading of mRNA and therefore inappropriate amino acids are introduced into