A 3-Year-Old Boy Is Brought to the Office Due to a 1-Day

A 3-year-old boy is brought to the office due to a 1-day history of fever and irritability.  The mother states that the boy has been tugging at his right ear.  The patient has had 2 previous episodes of acute otitis media.  Temperature is 38.1 C (100.6 F) .  Otoscopic examination shows a perforated right tympanic membrane with erythema and purulent exudate.  Cultures from the exudate yield small, oxidase-positive, gram-negative coccobacilli that grow on factor X- and factor V-supplemented media, consistent with Haemophilus influenzae.  The patient's immunizations are up to date.  Which of the following best explains this patient's susceptibility to the pathogen causing his current infection?

A) No vaccine is effective against H influenzae
B) The patient has defective cell-mediated immunity
C) The patient has defective neutrophil function
D) The strain responsible for this patient's disease does not produce a capsule
E) The strain responsible for this patient's disease produces exotoxin

Correct Answer:

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