A 68 year-old male was admitted to the hospital from his lon…
A 68 year-old male was admitted to the hospital from his long-term care facility after one week of difficulty breathing and cough with rusty colored sputum. Prior to the development of these symptoms, the patient had a cold, but then his symptoms progressively worsened over the next few days. Review of systems reveals fever, chills, cough (sometimes productive) and labored breathing. A chest X-ray shows lung inflammation indicating the presence of an infection. The sputum sample revealed the presence of gram positive cocci in chains and pairs that were Quellung positive (swollen capsule). Blood agar plates were inoculated and the bacterium was positive for alpha hemolysis. A. Name the bacterium (genus and species name) that caused this infection. B. What disease does the patient have? C. Explain your reasoning. D. Explain how this could have been prevented. E. List two other infections this bacterium causes.