A 7 year old girl is brought in to the doctor's office by her mother. Upon
examination, the doctor notices that the girl has a fever, and a fine 'sandpaper'-like rash.The girl states that, '...it's hard to swallow, and my throat hurts. My ears hurt too!" The doctor is not surprised to find that the girl's throat appears reddened, and her tongue is spotted and strawberry-like. The doctor obtains a throat culture and sends the culture to
you.

1) After gram staining, you find that the organism is 'gram-positive.' You next prepare a culture of the organism on blood agar. When you inspect the culture, you find that a'clear ring' has begun to form around each of the colonies. What has caused this ring? How does this help you to identify this organism?

2)Based on the gram stain, and on the way the organism behaved on the culture media,what organisms could this be? What is the basis for your conclusions?

3)Now let's add the patient's symptoms, and what the doctor observed. Based on the
little girl's symptoms, what the doctor observed, the gram stain results, and the way the organism behaved on the culture media, what do you think this organism is? How did you come to your conclusion?