Using PCR

A 22-year-old man presented to an emergency department with a one-day history of fever, myalgia, chills, headache, and malaise; he did not have dyspnea or cough. The patient had been in excellent health. His temperature was 39.4°C, his pulse rate was 118 beats per minute, his blood pressure was 127/84 mm Hg, and his respiratory rate was 24 breaths per minute. His blood O₂ level was 91%, determined by pulse oximetry.

The patient was discharged with no diagnosis or therapy. The day after dishcarge, the patient had acute respiratory failure and cardiopulmonary arrest and could not be resiscitated.

After looking at the PCR results, go to the next question: