Your Mission:
It all began with a seemingly innocent birthday party at the Community Swim Club.
What is the worst thing that can happen at a 5-year old's birthday party? Sticky fingers? Fights in the bouncy house? Headaches induced by lots of screaming kids? Usually, but after this party, these things would have been a welcome side effect. Instead, the side effects included:
Tiredness
Stomach cramps/pain
Vomiting
Watery diarrhea that lasted about a week.
Clue 1
Ice cream served at the party.
The health department gets a report that five children who attended the party have been admitted to a local hospital with severe diarrhea. The next day, a parent calls the local health department to report that her four kids (who all attended the same birthday party) also have severe diarrhea. CDC's team of Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) officers, known as "Disease Detectives," is called in to help investigate.
The lead EIS officer asks you to interview the parents of the children. One mother tells you that she heard that the homemade ice cream served at the party had been made with raw eggs, and she suspects foodborne illness.
Tip
Food and drinks served at the party.
If you suspect foodborne illness that is linked to an event (for example, a birthday party) focus on foods that the patients have in common. But keep an open mind about other possible outbreak sources, such as drinks.
Even though foodborne illness might be suspected, there might be other things that are to blame for the outbreak.