Nevada/California Regional Honors Institute

Phi Theta Kappa
Nevada-California Region
The Dimensions and Directions of Health:
Choices in the Maze

Medical Detective

In today's crowded, overpopulated world, in which frequent travel and the mass production and distribution of food and other goods are a way of life, diseases can spread rapidly. A contaminated food or water supply, for example, can affect many thousands of people very quickly. Identifying the causative agent of a disease is desirable so that a disease can be effectively controlled and treated. It is also desirable to understand the mode of transmission and geographical distribution of the disease. The science that studies when and where diseases occur and how they are transmitted in populations is called epidemiology. Epidemiologists are sometimes called medical detectives.

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The problem: An outbreak of food poisoning occurred, affecting half the students who ate in the school cafeteria on a Wednesday. Lunch was served at 12:30 p.m. An investigation was started to determine the cause. Use the data table to answer the following questions:

Which food transmitted the illness?
How could this disease be prevented?
Extra credit: What is the disease?

Symptoms experienced by children included:

	D = Diarrhea	V = Vomiting
	N = Nausea	C = Abdominal cramps

All fresh food items were delivered to the cooking area the morning of May 22. The menu consisted of

H = Hamburger. Hamburgers were purchased from a fast-food restaurant. The meat was cooked to 160°F. Sandwiches consisted of meat, bread, catsup, and mustard.

L = Lettuce. Lettuce, served raw, was purchased from a farmer's market..

S = Sprouts. Alfalfa sprouts, served raw, were purchased from a farmer's market.

D = Dressing. Salad dressing was a commerical product purchased from a supermarket.

1. Which food transmitted the illness?

2. How could this disease be prevented?

3. Extra credit: What is the disease?

Person	Foods eaten	Symptoms	Onset of symptoms
1	HLSD	DVNC	2400 Wed
2	HLD
3	HLSD	NC	0200 Thurs
4	HLSD	DNC
5	HLD
6	HD
7	HLD
8	H
9	HLSD	DVNC	1100 Thurs
10	H
11	H
12	HLSD	DNC	1400 Thurs
13	H
14	HLD
15	HSD	DNC	2400 Thurs
16	H
17	HL
18	LS	N	1300 Wed
19	LS	DVNC	1700 Thurs
20	H
21	LSD	DNC	0200 Thurs
22	LSD	C	0800 Fri
23	HL
24	HLSD	DC	1500 Thurs
25	HLS	VNC	0100 Thurs
26	HLD
27	HD
28	HLSD	DC	0200 Thurs
29	HL
30	H
31	HD
32	HLSD	DC	1200 Thurs