1.1.2.A Investigating Outbreak PDF

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Principles of Biomedical Science
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Activity 1.1.2 Investigating an Outbreak Introduction When Sue walks into the college infirmary, she is shocked to find so many other students waiting to see the doctor. Could all of these cases possibly be related? Sue figures she just has a cold. She will get some medicine from the doctor and be on her way. If only it were that simple! In a suspected disease outbreak, scientists and doctors must work diligently to gather evidence and to identify the cause of the illness. The ability to identify the pathogen, the infectious agent or germ, involved is crucial to stopping the spread of the disease and to providing proper treatment to those who are affected. You have been assigned to be the chief investigator for the case at Sue’s college. As you investigate this potential outbreak, you will be provided with information about patient symptoms and patient medical histories. Research these symptoms to generate a list of possible diseases or disease agents that might be responsible for the cases at the college. You will perform diagnostic tests as well as analyze DNA sequence data to narrow down your list. Gather as much information as you can and brainstorm possible diagnoses for those who are affected. Keep a detailed record of all of your evidence in your laboratory journal. Work quickly, but pay attention to all of the clues. You will receive more information about the case in the next few activities.

Equipment • • •

Computer with Internet access and Inspiration ® software Activity 1.1.2 Student Resource Sheet Laboratory journal

Procedure 1. Obtain a Student Resource Sheet from your teacher. 2. Work with a partner to analyze the information presented on the Resource Sheet. As you read the patient information, complete the following: •

Highlight or underline important information in the case history of each patient which appears to relate to a possible diagnosis. Be on the lookout for patient symptoms and any possible risk factors or lifestyle factors that affect the patient’s chance of being infected with a particular illness. In your lab journal, organize this information in a chart, graph, table, or graphic organizer. This will be called the Patient Symptoms/Risk Factors Organizer.

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Use the Internet to generate a list of possible infectious agents or illnesses that may produce symptoms similar to what you are seeing in each patient.

© 2010 Project Lead The Way, Inc. Medical Interventions Activity 1.1.2: Investigating an Outbreak – Page 1

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Begin to match information from your list with information presented in the case histories.

3. Keep a detailed record of your observations and research in your laboratory journal. Identify the disease agents most likely involved in the cases at the college. You will add more information to your Patient Symptoms/Risk Factors Organizer as you further investigate this outbreak. 4. Explain your findings and hypotheses to the class before you continue on to Activity 1.1.3. Share your list of possible pathogens and describe how you arrived at your conclusions. 5. In your laboratory journal or using Inspiration software, create a flow chart or web that illustrates possible connections between the patients who have shown up at the infirmary. Continue to update this chart as more patients are added and refer to these connections later in the lesson when you try to trace the path of the infection.

Conclusion 1. Why is information about a patient’s lifestyle and about possible environmental exposures important when investigating an outbreak? In order to familiarize with the patient, you must have a strong general idea of the patient’s surroundings and lifestyle choices that may affect the patient’s body. In which, to track down the patient’s surroundings, we are able to possibly see the strong possibilities of where the patient’s infection was started. Thus, finding the origin could also prevent the outbreak from spreading further. 2. What medical interventions can be used to treat and contain the outbreak of an infectious disease? Many types of medical interventions could be used to both treat and contain an outbreak of an infectious disease. These interventions include: -

Sanitation

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Evacuation

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Quarantine

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Vaccinations

In combination with many other types of medical interventions, these methods can all be helpful towards treating and containing an infectious outbreak. 3. What do you think is the most likely cause of Sue’s illness? Provide evidence to support your theory. To conclude, Sue’s illness could most possibly be meningitis. However, to find the cause of the illness, we must consider her surroundings. The background mentions that Sue is just moving to a new college with many different students surrounding her. Since she is often tired due to sports and all-nighters, her immune system is very low in tolerance towards infectious diseases. If anything, spending lots of time in college communities with so many people and a bad habit of not washing your hands or staying clean would continue to raise the risk factors towards meningitis. © 2010 Project Lead The Way, Inc. Medical Interventions Activity 1.1.2: Investigating an Outbreak – Page 2...