5. On October 31, 1989, the Louisiana state health department received reports of 33 cases of Legionnaire's disease in t

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5 On October 31 1989 The Louisiana State Health Department Received Reports Of 33 Cases Of Legionnaire S Disease In T 1 (78.87 KiB) Viewed 30 times

5. On October 31, 1989, the Louisiana state health department received reports of 33 cases of Legionnaire's disease in the town of Bogalusa (population 16,000). Legionnaire's disease, or legionellosis, is a potentially fatal respiratory disease caused by the growth of a bacterium, Legionella pneumophila, in lungs of patients. The bacterium enters human via the respiratory portal in aerosols produced by cooling towers, air conditioners, whirlpool baths, showers, humidifiers, and respiratory therapy equipments. Epidemiologists began trying to ascertain the source of Bogalusa's Legionnaire's disease outbreak by interviewing the victim and their relatives to develop complete histories and to identify areas of commonality among the victims that were lacking among the nonvictims. Victims reported a range of ages, occupations, hobbies, religions, and types and locations of dwellings. No significant differences were identified among the lifestyles, ages, or smoking habits of victims and nonvictims, but one curious fact was discovered. All the victims did their grocery shopping at the same store. However, healthy individuals also shopped at that store. The air conditioning system of the grocery store proved to be free of Legionella, but the vegetable misting machine did not. The strain of Legionella isolated from the misting machine was identical to the strain recovered from the lungs of the victims. 1. Would this outbreak be classified as endemic, epidemic, or pandemic? 2. Was this a descriptive, analytical or experimental epidemiological study? Why? 3. Knowing the epidemiology and causative agent of Legionnaire's disease, what questions would you have asked of the victims or of their surviving relatives? 4. What, as an epidemiologist, would you have examined at the store? I 5. How did the victims become contaminated? Why didn't everyone who bought vegetable at the store get legionellosis? What could the owners of the store do to limit or prevent future infections?