This problem has been solved! see the answerthe president of a local university just received a phone call from the centers for disease control and prevention (cdc) that one of the university’s recent alumni’s had passed away – and this was the second phone call from the cdc this week to be notified of a alumni death. howard (age 26) and elizabeth (age 25) both had died within the past year. howard had been a communications major, married, and had an infant baby girl. in the past spring he had started to feel very depressed, and he was put on an antidepressant. this seemed to for a short while, but within a few weeks he was depressed again, and this time also hallucinating. as the fall approached, howard’s movements became very rigid, and he was brought to a neurologist. his physical movements continued to deteriorate and within months he passed away without a definitive diagnosis, about half a year following his initial symptoms. upon his death, an autopsy was ordered, and the pathologist discovered small holes within the brain tissue, and reported this to the cdc. elizabeth was a year below howard and they never interacted formally, as elizabeth studied finance, but both attended the university at the same time and were part of a study-abroad program. her story was similar to that of howard. her roommates reported some personality changes, as well as what they described as “increased memory loss and clumsiness.” her condition deteriorated rapidly and she passed away. upon pathological examination, it was revealed that her brain also had small holes within the tissues.1. what is the name of the prion disease that likely caused both howard and elizabeth’s deaths? 2. propose a plausible explanation for how elizabeth and howard were infected.3. what is a prion disease and how can prions cause the symptoms seen in these individuals? 4. are the family members of the affected individuals at risk for acquiring this disease? 5. if either patient had received an early diagnosis, could they have been treated, and if so, how?