Question

Q6. Case study: Peter Smith, a 19 year old university student, was suffering from influenza and visited his local GP. He said he began to feel unwell two days earlier and his condition had worsened since with an acute onset of a sore throat(pharyngitis). On examination the following observations were made: Fever of 38.9 degrees C, Runny nose, Sneezing, Enlarged anterior cervical lymph nodes (lymphadenopathy) Peter’s throat was observed to have the following signs: Redness, Swollen, Having a patchy covering of yellow-white exudate over his tonsils The doctor prescribed phenoxymethylpenicillin 500 mg twice per day for ten days.

Question: Name and describe two (2) possible ways that Peter could have contracted the influenza virus (modes of transmission).

Answer 1

Influenza virus spreads influenza disease which is a highly contagious disease. The symptoms include sore throat, runny nose, fever, fatigue, breathing difficulty.

Influenza can spread through many modes of transmission.

Peter could have contracted the disease through two ways :

1. Droplet transmission : droplet transmission occurs when the infected aerosols released by infected person through sneezing or coughing are inhaled by a susceptible host.

2. Indirect transmission : indirect transmission occurs when the susceptible host comes in contact with infected surfaces such as utensils or equipment of infected person.