A 62-Year-Old Man Comes to the Emergency Department Due to Sudden-Onset

A 62-year-old man comes to the emergency department due to sudden-onset of high fever, shaking chills, shortness of breath, and productive cough.  The patient has smoked a pack of cigarettes daily for 40 years.  Examination shows dullness to percussion over the left side of the chest.  Chest x-ray reveals consolidation in the left upper lobe.  Gram stain of the sputum shows numerous polymorphonuclear leukocytes and gram-positive cocci in pairs.  When cultured on a blood agar plate under aerobic conditions, the bacterial colonies are surrounded by a zone of incomplete hemolysis.  The organism responsible for this patient's condition is most likely to exhibit which of the following virulence features?

A) Inhibition of host protein synthesis
B) Motility within host tissue
C) Prevention of phagosome-lysosome fusion
D) Resistance to phagocytosis
E) Survival in extreme environments

Correct Answer:

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