Disease (KURU)

Paper instructions:
This internet research assignment will involve you researching a disease and creating a case study. This will get you to understand a particular disease in a way that you might observe in a health setting. As you will see, a disease will have particular signs and symptoms associated with it that can provide clues as to what it could be. Although the assignment only requires you to write a one paragraph case study, you may have to spend a considerable amount of time researching it before you can come up with a suitable scenario. Be creative, be correct, and be thorough.This internet research assignment will involve you researching a disease and creating a case study. This will get you to understand a particular disease in a way that you might observe in a health setting. As you will see, a disease will have particular signs and symptoms associated with it that can provide clues as to what it could be. Although the assignment only requires you to write a one paragraph case study, you may have to spend a considerable amount of time researching it before you can come up with a suitable scenario. Be creative, be correct, and be thorough.Your task: Write a one paragraph scenario in which a patient has acquired the disease you have chosen.
A well-written case study will include typical:
? Symptoms and signs
? Risk factors
? Mode of transmission
? Diagnosis
? Patient care
? Treatment(s)

Examples
Case Study: Salmonellosis
A mother takes her 8 year old son to his pediatrician on Tuesday complaining of abdominal cramps, fever, and diarrhea in which the symptoms began in the early hours of Monday morning. While the doctor performs his examination the boy is also found to have a headache along with showing signs of fatigue. When discussing the patient’s activities over the last few days with the mother she revealed he ate chicken at Sonic on Sunday after church and his other meals have been cereal and canned pastas at home. The doctor hypothesized that the boy’s symptoms are from the worker who prepared the chicken at Sonic having not washed their hands before work was likely the cause of his symptoms. In order for the doctor to confirm his suspicion he has his nurse take a stool sample from the child for laboratory analysis; the tests confirmed the doctor’s suspicion. The mother was told the results of the test and was informed to take him home to make sure proper hygiene techniques are being instructed and to make sure he drinks plenty of fluids such as water and sport drinks to prevent dehydration. Monitor him to make sure his symptoms do not change and they should get better on their own in the next few days as most patients do; and if they change or get worse to bring him back in for possible IV treatment. Risk factors of getting this disease are not practicing proper hygiene before preparing or eating food, not preparing food properly, many animals can harbor the bacteria as well so be sure to clean up after handling them or being in their environment before you eat as the oral route is the primary mode of transmission to humans.

Case Study: Kuru
When Isabella brought her 65-year-old husband, Lachlan, to the emergency department she was afraid that he was showing signs of a possible stroke. He had an unsteady gait, slurred speech, and bilateral tremors, all of which had gradually worsened over the course of 2 weeks. During the initial exam, Lachlan did not report any pain, nor breathing difficulty, and was alert and oriented to time, place, and self. He did not present with fever or flu-like symptoms. The ED physician, unconvinced it was a stroke, ordered a CT scan for Lachlan which revealed that the source of his symptoms was neither a stroke nor a brain tumor. Blood tests were unremarkable. After 12 long hours, Lachlan was sent home with his worried wife and a referral to a specialist in neurodegenerative disorders. Before their first appointment with the specialist could occur, Lachlan returned 3 weeks later to the same ED, this time in an ambulance. He was unable to walk, was shivering violently all over, and laughed loudly and inappropriately. The same physician re-examined Lachlan and noticed that his mood had changed and he seemed to get agitated easily, but he was still alert and oriented, and he did not have a fever. While awaiting the results of the same routine tests, the physician overheard Isabella and Lachlan reminiscing about a trip to Papua New Guinea they had taken together in graduate school in the 1950s. During the trip, they had lived a short time with the Fore tribe in order to document endo-cannibalistic rituals performed in honor of deceased loved ones. When asked, Lachlan admitted that although he did not participate in the ritual, one of the tribal women who helped prepare the corpse also prepared dinner for him on occasion and Lachlan could not be sure that she was sanitary. Fearing the worst, the ED physician referenced the W.H.O. diagnostic classification criteria for a related disease called Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. Following these criteria, the ED physician ordered a spinal tap and an EEG for Lachlan. There were abnormal neuron-specific enzyme levels in the absence of a tumor, and his EEG showed abnormal brain waves. After consulting with multiple specialists on the diagnostic exams, the physician explained to the couple that he had a good idea of the diagnosis, but could only be absolutely certain with a brain biopsy. They declined the biopsy due to the risks, and the physician explained with a heavy heart that there is no cure, and no treatment, and that Lachlan would succumb in a matter of months, but not before his symptoms would possibly worsen to very severe ataxia, dysphagia, dysphasia, incontinence, and disorientation.