Question

Case #4. A young woman, 28-year-old, working at Amazon told a coworker on the day prior to hospital admission that she felt dizzy and confused and was experiencing some double vision. Her coworker became concerned and drove her home. That night the patient woke at 2 am. having difficulty in swallowing and immediately phoned for an ambulance. On admission, she appeared weak and drowsy with no swelling of her tonsils or lymph nodes. She had no history of flu-like illness. The last meal she ingested had been at lunch of the previous day and consisted of a carton of fruit yogurt and a cheese and bologna sandwich with home canned salsa made with low-acid tomatoes. The patient's condition subsequently worsened, and she required 6 weeks of supportive care, including 5 weeks on a ventilator. No bacterial species were isolated from her stool samples using standard techniques What do you think was wrong with the patient? (Think of her symptoms.) How is this organism acquired? Where do you think she contracted it? Why were stool samples negativo? What special conditions might this bacteriun need?