Reference no: EM132501936

In the late 2000s, a group of American tourists became ill after staying at a Norwegian ski resort. Symptoms primarily included diarrhea and nausea. In attempt to determine the cause of symptoms, Norwegian officials conducted a survey of all visitors at the resort during the 2 ½ weeks when people were reporting illness. In total, 267 people were surveyed, and 234 reported having been ill during their stay or shortly thereafter. Diarrheal symptoms were reported to last about 10-15 days. Of the 234, 85 patients were classified as having a definite case of gastroenteritis following a stool sample (definitive case: pathogen was recovered from the sample). In 90% of cases, the same pathogen was recovered from those staying at this resort. The following is a microscopic image from the stool sample:

1. What pathogen did the majority of the patients test positive for?

2. Describe a likely and plausible scenario as to how these patients were infected?

3. The doctors performed a standard wet mount for microscopic examination. Describe (name and methodology) of another test they could have performed?

4. Describe the complete life cycle of this microbe.