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1.07 Lab Report

Decent Essays

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

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