epidemiology

Exercise #4 – Foodborne Illness Outbreak Investigation:

Open the Excel worksheet (“Exercise4.xlsx”) that I have provided. This is a list of MSPH students from the entering cohort of 2010 at Campbell University, which lists what each student ate at the new “Build-Your-Own Burrito Buffet” in the Ambulatory Care Center on August 10th, 2010, along with the symptoms that developed about twelve hours (on average) after the social event.

Your task is to classify each student as either a “case” or a “noncase” based on their symptoms, and enter "YES" or "NO" in the "Case?" column.

Note: One symptom is enough for case classification.

Then calculate the attack rates among students who did and did not eat each of the food items that were served. Next, for each of the foods, calculate the Rate Ratio (using the attack rates) between those who did and did not eat it.

Answer the following questions and submit your responses through blackboard.

1. Which food item was most likely to have caused the outbreak? Explain your answer. (Hint: use the rate ratio).

2. What is the possible agent (microorganism) responsible for the outbreak? Explain your answer.

Note: Also attach your completed excel sheet when submitting your work on Blackboard.