Botulism

PART I: OUTBREAK DETECTION

Questions 1: As a public health practitioner in Argentina, what are the major concerns raised by these two possible cases of botulism in Buenos Aires?

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Question 2: How might you go about swiftly determining if there are other cases of botulism associated with the cases in Buenos Aires?

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Question 3A: What key points would you include in the press release?

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Question 3B: Who should be involved in developing the press release or notified before distribution?

Who should be involved?

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Who should be notified?

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Question 4: Critique the press release. How might the press release impact the outbreak investigation?

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EXTRA CREDIT: In your own words, what is the difference between selection and information bias? How might they affect a disease outbreak investigation?

Question 5: Would you initiate any control measures at this time? YES / NO (circle one)

What criteria would you consider in implementing control measures so early in an investigation?

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PART II: DESCRIPTIVE EPIDEMIOLOGY AND HYPOTHESE GENERATION

Question 6A: Summarize the demographic and clinical information on these patients and draw an epidemic curve.

Summary of demographic information -

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Summary of clinical information -

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Draw epidemic curve here OR insert it as an “object” from another file. –

Question 6B: When was the most likely period of exposure among these cases?

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Question 7: What type of study would you use to investigate the hypothesis and WHY?

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