Chapter 19 - Explain why the nervous system is described

Please Pick 2 question to answer and provide reference. 

Chapter 19

1.   a.Explain why the nervous system is described as “immunologically privileged,” and discuss whether this provides a beneficial or disadvantageous effect in this system.

b.Discuss the defenses a pathogen encounters as it attempts to gain entry into the nervous system.

2.Conduct research and summarize the causative agent and mode of transmission behind the multistate meningitis outbreak linked to steroid injections that occurred in 2012. How did improper physical and chemical control methods play a major role in this outbreak? Did portal of entry play any role?

3.Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy affecting white-tailed deer and elk. In 2005, venison from a deer testing positive for CWD was served during an annual wild-game dinner in the town of Verona in upstate New York. Based upon your knowledge of vCJD and related spongiform encephalopathies and any additional research you conduct, discuss whether any of the attendees are at risk for developing disease in the future.

4.As you learned in section 8.3, many types of fruits and vegetables can be fermented into alcoholic beverages. Such was the case recently when prisoners in Utah attempted to make an illegal beverage called “pruno”; however, someone added a weeks-old baked potato to the mix, letting a microbe into the party who was clearly uninvited. Consumers of the pruno began to develop difficulty swallowing, vomiting, double vision, and muscle weakness; three required ventilation therapy. No deaths were attributed to the contaminated beverage.

a.What disease were the prisoners suffering from, and what was the causative agent involved?

b.Based upon your knowledge of this disease, what form of treatment was used to successfully avoid the worst outcomes of the disease in these patients?

5.In August 2011, a soldier from Fort Drum in Watertown, New York, tested positive for rabies; he died less than 3 weeks later. Further investigation revealed that he actually became infected when he was bitten by a dog in January of the same year while stationed in Afghanistan. Discuss any risks the soldier posed to his platoon, explaining whether or not this fatal outcome could have been avoided.