Salmonella Typhimurium Outbreak Analysis

Typhoid fever comes from Salmonella Typhi. Salmonella Typhi is often carried in poultry products and unwashed fruits. It exists as bacteria often cause through time and temperature abused foods. Because typhoid comes from bacteria, treatment will consist of an antibiotic. People can be treated for Typhoid before getting it to help reduce their risk of getting ill by 50-80% when traveling to the developing world. Children are at the greatest risk. Although typhoid is not a common concern for the developed world, it is in many other places. The most common place for Typhoid fever is in South Asia. One of the biggest outbreaks of typhoid fever is considered to be the fault of one women named Typhoid Mary.

During its 2002 symposium on the future of public health, the Harvard School of Public Health recalled several incidents that show anthrax to be a genuine bioterrorism threat: 1979 incidents of inhalation of anthrax in Sverdlovsk (Hamburg, et al., 2002, p. 131); the deliberate release of anthrax only weeks after the 9/11 terrorist attacks (Hamburg, et al., 2002, p. 124); additional incidents of anthrax being deliberately released in 2001 (Hamburg, et al., 2002, p. 127). In addition, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services published a 2006 report mentioning a 2004 anthrax incident in the Dirksen Senate Office Building (CNA Corporation, 2006, p. 1). In addition, there are numerous reports of white powder being received by business and governmental officials. Consequently, there is a realistic possibility of an anthrax (or Ricin) bioterrorist attack in the future and the average individual should know how to respond if he/she receives mysterious white powder in an envelope.

This lab experiment was done for the purpose of learning how to determine a gram negative bacterium based on multiple tests learned throughout the semester. My gram negative unknown bacterium given to me was Salmonella typhimurium based off of the following tests; Triple Sugar Iron Agar (TSIA), Sulfate Indole Motility (SIM), Methyl Red (MR), Voges-Proskaur (VP), Citrate, Urea Hydrolysis, and Gelatin Hydrolysis. Each test performed gives results such as motility, acid production, fermentation, carbon requirements, or detection of certain coenzymes. With a process of elimination, I determined which bacteria it was not and which bacterium I had, S. typhimurium. The expectation was to master the techniques for each test and utilize the results to determine the unknown bacterium I was given within a two-week period.

Bruce Ivins, other than his suicide when things homing on to him with the FBI, is the anthrax killer, exposing and estimated thirty thousand people to the deadly spores, killing five, leaving its illness with seventeen others. (Shactman) The problem with chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear terrorism, also know as CBRN, is that, in threats where conventional explosives are not used, chemical, biological, and radiological threats are hard to detect and prevent, and after-the-fact, are, usually, impossible, expensive, or extensive in labor and use of high-tech, cutting-edge equipment, which is complicated and needs technical expertise, to make the clean-up take very long in chemical and radiological threats, and is nearly impossible to collect evidence for examination in a laboratory in chemical and biological threats if aerosolized or in a vapor form, which dissipates into the atmosphere, environment, and plants around it (Center For Excellence in Emergency

In 2001, the discovery of three letters containing anthrax spores caused widespread panic that swept across the US. Thousands of people flocked to clinics to be tested for possible infection and hundreds were affected by the shutdown of workplaces and public facilities. Though only a

When the pandemic broke, Dr. Cheever committed to several questionable decisions or courses of action that had or could have had negative impacts on the public health. One of these was when he dispatched Dr. Erin Mears from the CDC’s Epidemic Intelligence Services (EIS) to investigate on the recent outbreak in Minnesota. The EIS, also referred to as the CDC’s Disease Detectives, serves as the first line of defense and investigation of the agency. It is actually a 2-year training program on applied epidemiology, undertaken by 70 to 80 selected physicians, doctoral-level scientists, veterinarians, and other health professionals (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2015). EIS Officers are the ones who should be ready to respond in case of outbreak, as Dr. Mears did. EIS Officers have the responsibility of identifying causes of outbreaks, recommending preventive and control measures against them, and implementing strategies to protect

A bioterrorism attack is the deliberate release of viruses, bacteria, or other germs (agents) used to cause illness or death in people, animals, or plants. Bioterrorism agents can be separated into three categories, depending on how easily they can be spread and the severity of illness or death they cause. Category A agents are considered the highest risk and Category C agents are those that are considered emerging threats for disease. Bioterrorism is an issue and has been an issue for many years. This being the case every citizen and health care professional needs to be prepared for an attack. However most people are not fully prepared for a bioterrorism attack to occur. For one citizens are not educated on illnesses that could be used and they are now choosing not use countermeasures like vaccinations against the agents that would be used for a bioterrorism attack. The next issue we run into is that health care workers are not fully trained on what to do if a

The Rajneeshee bioterrorism attack is the perfect example of terrorist or an extremist group taking matters in their own hands. It seems that the purpose and method of delivery was well thought out and was not irrational, Diseases have always been the enemy to man and animals, using viruses as weapons clearly presents a threat to the public and to national security.

Bioterrorism did not begin with 2001 anthrax attacks; it has occurred throughout history and its threat to

On the second half of 2015, Chipotle Mexican Grill had a series of foodborne illness outbreak that included salmonella, norovirus, and E. coli. In the period of six months, the outbreaks affect around 500 people across 12 states. Four outbreaks took place in 0single states; however, three of them were larger than the multistate outbreak (Zuraw, 2015). 45 cases of the salmonella outbreak were traced to tomatoes served by the restaurants (Adams, 2016); the norovirus outbreaks happened because an employee was sick with the virus but still prepares food for customers (Rettner, 2017), meanwhile U.S. Food & Drug Administration failed to trace the source of the E. coli outbreaks (U.S. Food & Drug Administration). Chipotle immediately close the restaurants

According to the new report released by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention a salmonella outbreak happened in the US. The officials affirmed that people should not kiss or cuddle chicken since they risk getting salmonella infection.

According to science news, over the past week there was a salmonella outbreak that’s stricken more than 165 consumers of Roma, Italian-style plum, and round red tomatoes. The poisonings occurred in 17 states, mostly out West. Certain tomatoes are at risk not all tomatoes. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention they said, “cherry tomatoes, grape tomatoes, and tomatoes sold with the vines still attached to any source” appear safe. They are still questioning if had the tomatoes that sickened people in the outbreak been cleansed very well. According to them, the tomatoes that weren’t cleansed thoroughly contained the bacteria that causes salmonella. Also according

An Outbreak Investigation requires preparation and field work. The epidemiologic steps of an outbreak situation entails establishing the existence of an outbreak (are there more cases than expected), verifying the diagnosis, collaborating with laboratories to find causative agent, conducting an active surveillance, which may include additional cases, analyzing data by time, place, and person (when, where, and who), generating a hypotheses, and conducting a case-controlled study, communicating findings, and implementing control and prevention measures. There isn’t a definitive order to conduct the steps of an outbreak investigation. It usually depends on the circumstances of the outbreak (CDC, 2012).

Before the 20th century, the use of biological agents took three major forms, Deliberate contamination of food and water with poisonous or contagious material using of microbes, biological toxins, animals, or plants (living or dead) in a weapon system, using of biologically inoculated fabrics and persons. Now a day sophisticated bacteriological and virological techniques allowed the production of significant stockpiles of weaponized bio-agents such as; Anthrax, Brucella, Tularemia, Smallpox, Viral hemorrhagic fevers, Botulinum, Ricin, (Legvold, 2012).The most likely route of dissemination is an aerosolized release of 1-5mm particles. Other methods of dissemination include oral, intentional contamination of food/water supply, percutaneous,

* Ensure public safety: A majority of salmonella species can be inactivated if the restaurant chain operates at documented pasteurization temperatures. However, in the event of the infection reaching the public, there is a significant morbidity and mortality rate. Hospitalization and death rates can be as high as 33% and 3% respectively. (Schlundt, 2001) Exhibit 1 shows the number of Salmonella-related deaths and death rates in the past 10 years.