Epidemiology Case 1

Epidemiology Case 1

Solving a Case from a Real World Outbreak

The Midterm Revenge

Case 1

Clue #1

A couple of students have been feeling terrible after late night partying and eating pizza. Student have requested to excuse their absence from midterm exams. Staff at the health center on campus believe a stomach bug might be going around.

Multiple Choice

As an Epidemiologist, what should you do now?

• Tell the sick students to stop partying so hard and go to class

• Keep the sick students in the same area until their symptoms are gone

• Find out if others are sick as well

Clue #2

Things are getting worse. 76 students have visited the student health center with similar symptoms. Most students are getting better in a day or two but three students have gone to the hospital for additional treatment.

Multiple Choice

What should you do next?

• Talk to the students to find out what they have in common that might have made them sick

• Shut down the dorms and send all other students home

• Tell students not to eat or drink anything for the next 24 hours

Clue #3

Great news! The outbreak seems to be slowing down. No other students have gotten sick in the last 3 days. You plan to interview the students to learn the likely source of the outbreak. (See charts)

Multiple Choice

Where do you think the outbreak started?

• The water supply in the dorms

• The classroom

• The food court

Clue #4

While you suspect the outbreak started at the food court, you need to confirm your suspicions. You begin to interview what students ate between March 7th and March 10th

Hint: To identify the source, look for the food with a high attack rate (In yellow) that everyone ate and look for a low attack rate for those who did not eat that food. (Can be more than one.)

Multiple Choice

Based on the data, what is causing students to get sick?

• The ham

• The cheese

• More than one item from the sandwich line

Clue #5

The results are in! The health department calls to tell you that the samples from the sick students tested positive for norovirus. You suspect that sick food court workers spread the virus when they were sick and handled the foods in the sandwich line.

Multiple Choice

What should you do to prevent another outbreak like this one?

• Require all food court staff to submit lab work every week to ensure they do are not infected

• Reinforce the need to properly wash hands before preparing food

Things to keep in mind with Norovirus:

• Wash hands carefully with soap and water

• When sick, do not make food for others

• Avoid touching ready-to-eat foods with bare hands

• Clean and disinfect kitchen utensils, counters, and surfaces