2. (5 pts) List and explain the names and affiliations of the various characters/stakeholders in this story – I’m looking for us to use the story to map out the complexities that are generally associated with solving public health puzzles – the stakeholders you list and explain here should apply to many of the cases we consider going forward. • Dr. Morris Greenberg was one of the two investigators and was the Health Department’s chief epidemiologist. He was not convinced that the men suffered from food poisoning, because the symptoms appeared too quickly. He postulated that the men had consumed some type of drug. To prove his claim, he wanted blood samples from the men and wanted the samples to be tested for methemoglobin, a compound formed …show more content…
Andrew J. Pensa was the Health Department Chemist. He analyzed the chemical composition of the ground coffee, sugar, a combination of evaporated milk and water, bakery rolls, dry oatmeal, salt, and saltpeter/sodium nitrate. His test results revealed that both the salt and the saltrete were composed of sodium nitrite, which can be toxic at three grains. 3. (5 pts) List two of the bits of evidence that you think were the most important findings in linking the exposure in question to the disease. (In other words if you had to explain the investigation to someone using only 2 details from the investigation, which two would you pick? Explain your logic for each one. One important detail from the investigation was that all the men had eaten oatmeal at the Eclipse Cafeteria on the same day and they all had the same illness shortly after eating. Since they all became ill after eating at the cafeteria, it was reasonable to consider the cafeteria as the source of the disease. Additionally, the fact that they all had the same illness supports the fact that a common factor (i.e., eating oatmeal at the Eclipse Cafeteria) caused the illness. Commonalities are important because they can help narrow down possible illnesses and they can help pinpoint the source, which in this case was poisoning from sodium
2. There are many conditions with symptoms similar to those described in the story. Research the symptoms. What bacteria or pathogens, other than E. coli, might be responsible for these illnesses? What are some examples of other ilnesses that can have similar symptoms?
6. Why would evidence of cholera in people living side by side, differing only in water supply, provide critical evidence?
An investigation was necessary to find the cause of the outbreak, and how to stop it from continuing to spread. The campus clinic was interested in testing the following nine patients: Sue, Jill, Anthony, Wanda, Maggie, Maria, Arnie, Marco, and Alvin. All of the students have similar symptoms and agreed to being tested except for Alvin.
the culprit and solving the case can be controlled by the biological evidence and how it
This article was a perfect example for the 2nd driving question because the spread of diseases affected the different cultures and businesses all around because they spread so fast. Also Christopher Columbus started the spread of these diseases as stated in the last fact I listed. They went from practically free from diseases to infected with millions of them because of Christopher Columbus bringing unknown and unfamiliar diseases to their land which was a huge turning point for
During the third week we conducted a cemetery investigation. I learned how the disease affected different people. It seemed to me that they were dying at a young age and their average death age was very low. There were a few different times where people did not live past 10 years old, while during other ages they lived over 100 years. This amazed me to see how much of a difference there is.
A man named Samuel Crowe began to lead the search to find what was causing this e-coli. Crowe began to investigate and question 10 people who had fallen ill. It was challenging for the people to remember everything they ate starting eight weeks ago. However, two people remembered eating raw cookie dough before the incident. They
Even if the story took place today, a doctor’s knowledge of chemicals and physiology would still give him or her great advantage over a layperson when it comes to the commission of a crime. A physician is required to go through extensive schooling in the study of the
Experts were called in to find the source and they knew it was caused by food or drink
This requires many different tests to determine what substance each one is. Things like over the counter drugs such as used in part 1 can be easily accessed. Some require that a person only has a certain amount of them. They are typically used for medical uses; aspirin can be used as pain relief and to help for fevers. When given an unknown, it is possible that these drugs can be compared by how they react with other substances. Test 1 revealed that it was simple with careful observation to determine what an unknown is and to therefore use those results across multiple
If the tests show that there are lipids and simple sugars, then the vomit is the Wife’s because she had a soda and french fries. If the test reveals there are lipids and proteins, then it is the Butler’s vomit because the butler had steak. If the test reveals there is lipids, proteins, and simple sugars, then it was the Victim because he had ice cream and chocolate syrup. If the vomit has lipids, proteins, and starch, then it was the Best Friend because he had a hamburger. If the vomit contained none of the organic molecules, then it was the Mistress because she only had
They were thought to have been getting rounds of penicillin, the most effective form of treatment at the time. What they were actually receiving was a lot of times aspirin or other forms of pointless medication. Even though this study was not showing promising results the benefits were too good in the eyes of these men to pass up. Participants were promised not only free treatment but also insurance that their burial would be paid for and their families would not have to pay. Survivors insurance they called
Hence, the second and the third carriers were numbers fourteen, two, sixteen, eight and seven. Nevertheless, the least two authentic infectious disease that could cause an epidemic are Zika and HIV. Thus, there are various ways to protect oneself from an infection such as washing hands regularly, avoid touching your face, eyes, and nose, and eat a healthy balance meal. In the graph above, it shows four different blood types of the suspects at the crime scene. However, suspects one, two, and four did not match the blood AB negative at the crime scene. Therefore, these suspects were innocent because the samples did not prove they were the people who commented the crime. However, the suspect blood that matched at the crime scene was suspect number three because he had a blood type of AB negative. Thus, this result does not imply that the person was the actual crime because there is only one evidence. There should be other evidence such as cameras, fingerprints, or eyewitness to make sure that it was suspect number three. On the hand, if there was a hospital emergency instead of the police station, and suspect blood number one could be only used for transfusions or donated without
Immediately following her and several other deaths the Center for Disease Control, Epidemic Intelligence Service, and the World Health Organization began their investigation of this mysterious disease. In addition, because the virus was unknown at
Cholera was causing massive evacuation of water out of the body resulting into the death within 48 hours of initiation of the symptoms. Nobody knew how the disease was spreading and how to cure it. As the epidemic started, many were spurred in the actions and started entertaining the different theories regarding the disease; mainly amongst them were Contagion and Miasma theory. However, a doctor by profession-John Snow, based on his previous studies on the cholera and his interest in the anesthesia, was strongly convinced that the origin and spread of cholera were other than the theories in speculation. He observed that the physicians treating the patients in close proximity remained unaffected evidently ruled out the contagion theory. During his in-depth investigation resulting in mapping of the houses and dead people, he found that habitants of certain buildings who shared the same demographic environment and air to breath, however different water supply, have remarkable difference in the mortality.