Foodborne Illness Short Answer Questions

Complete answers to questions below: What is the infectious agent (pathogen) that causes this infectious disease? For example, the name of the bacteria, virus, or parasite. The process of infection can be broken down into stages, each of which can be blocked by different defense mechanisms. In the first stage, a new host is exposed to infectious particles shed by an infected individual. The number, route, mode of transmission, and stability of an infectious agent outside the host determines its infectivity.Some pathogens, such as anthrax, are spread by spores that are highly resistant to heat and drying, while others, such as the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), are spread only by the exchange of bodily fluids or tissues because they are unable to survive as infectious agents outside the body. How is this infectious agent transmitted through food or water? Infectious pathogens include some viruses, bacteria, fungi, protozoa, multicellular parasites, and aberrant proteins known as prions.These pathogens are the cause of disease epidemics, in the sense that without the pathogen, no infectious epidemic occurs. The term infectivity describes the ability of an organism to enter, survive and multiply in the host, while the infectiousness of a disease indicates the comparative ease with which the disease is transmitted to other hosts. Transmission of pathogen can occur in various ways including physical contact, contaminated food, body fluids, objects, airborne inhalation, or through vector organisms What is an example of a real life outbreak of this foodborne illness in the United States?In early October 2012, the Clark County Public Health Department (â€Å"the health department†) received the first reports of a cluster of Salmonella Virchow infections occurring in the county. Additional reports came in rapidly, and by October 9, interviews of ill persons indicated that the source of the developing outbreak was the On the Border restaurant in Vancouver, Wa shington. On October 9, On the Border temporarily ceased operation. Dr. Alan Melnick, Clark County Health Officer, stated that the closure was â€Å"a further precaution to reduce the risk of Salmonella spreading to others. Meanwhile, health department staff continued to interview employees and patrons of the restaurant to learn more about the precise cause of the outbreak. The health department also continued its work with On the Border employees to make sure that standard control measures—e. g. hand-washing and environmental sanitation—were in place and effective, so that when the restaurant resumed operation it would not pose a continuing threat to the health of its patrons.As of the date of the restaurant’s closure on October 9, there were 11 confirmed and five probable cases of Salmonella Virchow infection linked to the consumption of food at the restaurant.  · What are the clinical symptoms, duration of the disease, and treatment if any? Viral hepatitis ; Infectious hepatitis The hepatitis A virus is found mostly in the stools and blood of an infected person about 15 – 45 days before symptoms occur and during the first week of illness.You can catch hepatitis A if: You eat or drink food or water that has been contaminated by stools (feces) containing the hepatitis A virus (fruits, vegetables, shellfish, ice, and water are common sources of the hepatitis A virus You come in contact with the stool or blood of a person who currently has the disease, A person with hepatitis, A does not wash his or her hands properly after going to the bathroom and touches other objects or food, You participate in sexual practices that involve oral-anal contact, About 3,600 cases of hepatitis A are reported each year.Because not everyone has symptoms with hepatitis A infection, many more people are infected than are diagnosed or reported. Risk factors include: International travel, especially to Asia or South or Central America IV drug use, living in a nursing home or rehabilitation center, working in a health care, food, or sewage industry What steps can be taken to prevent further outbreaks? Include individual as well as environmental precautions and methods. Preventing hepatitis A: The virus causing hepatitis A is mostly contracted through food and water.Therefore, proper hygiene is very important in this case. Drink filtered water that is free from any kind of germs and viruses. Make sure that the water which you are getting in your house is filtered properly. If you are travelling, then use only commercially bottled water that is sealed properly. Boiling the water before drinking is also helpful in killing the viruses that cause hepatitis. Wash your hands properly before touching any food items and after using the toilet. Follow proper sanitation in and around your house. Eat food that is cooked well and is fresh.