As an epidemiologist for the County Disease Control Office, you are investigating an outbreak that occurred at a restaurant. The predominant symptoms included vomiting (81%), nausea (76%), and diarrhea (76%). The average incubation period was five hours with an average duration of 19 hours. Items consumed among the ill included prime rib, baked potato with butter, and green salad with dressing.
Figure:
FOOD ITEMS PERSONS WHO ATE SPECIFIED FOOD PERSONS WHO DID NOT EAT SPECIFIED FOOD
Ill Not Ill Total Ill Not Ill Total
Prime Rib 18 3 21 3 5 8
Baked Potato 19 4 23 2 4 6
Green Salad 18 9 27 1 1 2
Figure 2:
Food Item 95% Confidence Interval
Prime Rib 1.4 – 65.7
Baked Potato 1.6 -218.5
Green Salad .10 – 42.9
Case Assignment:
Your task for this case assignment is to answer these questions:
1. What type of study was used for this investigation? Explain.
2. What would be the appropriate measure of association for this study?
3. Calculate the food-specific attack rates and calculate the measure of association between illness and each food item.
4. What does a confidence interval mean, and which 95% confidence intervals are statistically significant?
5. What do the results indicate regarding the likely source of exposure?
Assignment Expectations:
Length: Case assignments should be at least 2 pages (500 words) in length.
References: At least two references must be included from academic sources (e.g. peer-reviewed journal articles). Required readings are included. Quoted material should not exceed 10% of the total paper (since the focus of these assignments is critical thinking). Use your own words and build on the ideas of others. When material is copied verbatim from external sources, it MUST be enclosed in quotes. The references should be cited within the text and also listed at the end of the assignment in the References section (APA format recommended).
Organization: Subheadings should be used to organize your paper according to question
Format: APA format is recommended for this assignment. See Syllabus page for more information on APA format.