One summer in the late 1990s, a group of tourists from the United Kingdom became ill after they all stayed at the same hotel in Greece. Epidemiologists conducted surveys among all the people who had stayed at that hotel during the 2.5 half week period in which people were reporting their illnesses. They did this in an attempt to determine the cause of the symptoms, which were primarily diarrhea and nausea. They surveyed 239 people; 224 of them reported having been ill while they were still on vacation or shortly after their return. Their diarrheal symptoms lasted 10-15 days. Seventy of the 224 people who reported illness were classified has having definite cases of gastrointestinal disease. A case was called âdefiniteâ when a pathogen could actually be recovered from their stool. Of these, the vast majority tested positive for one particular microorganism.
1. Microscopic analysis of the stool samples revealed the presence of small oval shaped structures, with defined outer walls and 2 to 4 nuclei inside that looked like seeds. What is your diagnosis?
2.What organisms should be included in the differential diagnosis of this infection?
3. What features of the symptoms suggest that the causative organisms in not likely to be Staphylococcus aureus?
4.Epidemiologists interviewed the patients about their vacation activities and food intake to try to identify the environmental source of the infection. There was no relationship between illness and a personâs attending one of the scheduled childrenâs activities at the hotel. Only two types of food available in the dining room seemed to be associated with the illness: raw vegetables and salads. There was also a statistically significant relationship between illness and having consumed orange juice made from a mix (with hotel water). So what was the likely source?â
5. Why would an epidemiologist even ask about a person's attendance at children's activities?
6. Are there any symptoms that would help to distinguish this type of diarrheal illness from others?
One summer in the late 1990s, a group of tourists from the United Kingdom became ill after they all stayed at the same hotel in Greece. Epidemiologists conducted surveys among all the people who had stayed at that hotel during the 2.5 half week period in which people were reporting their illnesses. They did this in an attempt to determine the cause of the symptoms, which were primarily diarrhea and nausea. They surveyed 239 people; 224 of them reported having been ill while they were still on vacation or shortly after their return. Their diarrheal symptoms lasted 10-15 days. Seventy of the 224 people who reported illness were classified has having definite cases of gastrointestinal disease. A case was called âdefiniteâ when a pathogen could actually be recovered from their stool. Of these, the vast majority tested positive for one particular microorganism.
1. Microscopic analysis of the stool samples revealed the presence of small oval shaped structures, with defined outer walls and 2 to 4 nuclei inside that looked like seeds. What is your diagnosis?
2.What organisms should be included in the differential diagnosis of this infection?
3. What features of the symptoms suggest that the causative organisms in not likely to be Staphylococcus aureus?
4.Epidemiologists interviewed the patients about their vacation activities and food intake to try to identify the environmental source of the infection. There was no relationship between illness and a personâs attending one of the scheduled childrenâs activities at the hotel. Only two types of food available in the dining room seemed to be associated with the illness: raw vegetables and salads. There was also a statistically significant relationship between illness and having consumed orange juice made from a mix (with hotel water). So what was the likely source?â
5. Why would an epidemiologist even ask about a person's attendance at children's activities?
6. Are there any symptoms that would help to distinguish this type of diarrheal illness from others?
