A 24-Year-Old Man Develops Mild, Nonexudative Pharyngitis Shortly After Travel

question 72

Multiple Choice

A 24-year-old man develops mild, nonexudative pharyngitis shortly after travel to Eastern Europe.  Throat swab culture in tellurite-containing, selective media yields black, iridescent colonies.  Microscopy shows club-shaped, gram-positive bacilli in a palisade arrangement, which are identified as nonpathogenic Corynebacterium diphtheriae.  These bacteria can acquire virulence to become pathogenic through which of the following mechanisms?

• A)Bacterial conjugation permitting pili expression
• B)Chromosomal mutation permitting endotoxin production
• C)Environmental influences permitting toxin synthesis
• D)Phage conversion permitting exotoxin production
• E)Transformation permitting capsule formation

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