1. An accompanying commentary of approximately 2000 words excluding references.
The HACEK organisms are fastidious Gram-negative rods. They are normal commensals of the oral and respiratory tract but can cause endocarditis or other infections of normally sterile sites, such as meningitis or osteomyelitis. The type of endocarditis caused by the HACEK group is characterised by diagnosis after a long duration of symptoms, large vegetations and a tendency for emboli to form. The organisms are:
1. Haemophilus species
2. Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans (previously called Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans)
3. Aggregatibacter aphrophilus (its old name was far better though – Haemophilus aphrophilus!)
4. Cardiobacterium hominis
5. Eikenella corrodens
6. Kingella kingae
Introduce the HACEK organisms, discuss their key characteristics, and describe some of the main infections/diseases caused by the HACEK group and the treatment. For each organism you have to introduce it separately and mainly disease they cause is Endocarditis.
You should discuss how HACEK infections are detected in the clinical microbiology lab, showing appreciation of some of the challenges in HACEK diagnosis. It is important to cite each paragraph to avoid any plagiarism.