Reference no: EM132247066

Food-Borne Outbreak: 30 Possible Points Background An outbreak (epidemic) of gastroenteritis occurred in Greenport, a suburban neighborhood, on the evening of April 28. A total of 89 people went to the emergency departments of the three local hospitals during that evening. No more cases were reported afterward. These patients complained of headache, fever, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. The disease was severe enough in 19 patients to require hospitalization for rehydration. Gastroenteritis outbreaks like this are usually caused by the consumption of a contaminated or poisoned meal. Meal contamination can often be caused by pathogenic viruses or bacteria. However, acute outbreaks are more often produced by toxins from bacteria such as Staphylococcus spp., Clostridium perfringens, Salmonella spp. and Vibrio cholerae. Food poisoning can also be caused by chemicals or heavy metals, such as copper, cadmium or zinc, or by shellfish toxins. Outbreak Investigation The local health department was notified of a potential food-borne outbreak of gastroenteritis in Greenport, and the epidemic team, including a medical epidemiologist, a microbiology technician and a nurse, visited the local hospitals to interview the attending physicians, the patients and some of their relatives. Some stool samples were obtained from patients for microbiologic identification of the causative agent. The epidemic team knew that these types of outbreak usually occur in a very short time period that lasts no more than a few hours or one to two days after people ingest a contaminated meal. Epidemic investigators gather data to define the distribution of the disease by time (onset time and epidemic curve), place (potential places where the implicated meal was served, such as cafeterias, restaurants and picnics) and person (the distribution of the disease by age, gender and food items eaten). The findings of the initial investigation included the following information. The distribution of the disease by person (age and gender) was found as follows: Gastroenteritis Outbreak Findings by Person, Case Distribution by Age and Gender Please calculate the totals for each column and row and their corresponding percentages to try to determine if there are any important differences by age or by gender. Such a task is carried out to investigate if there are any high-risk groups and if the age and gender distribution can give some clues about the source of the outbreak. Interpret your findings. 2 points for calculations and 3 points for interpretations.