Assignment: Analyse the data and determine if a foodborne outbreak occured following this event. Present your analysis and justification for reaching this conclusion.

Background: This file contains data from an outbreak investigation of gastrointestinal disease. All of the histories collected here, were from members who attended a breakfast meeting between 6:00-8:00 am on April 26. The data sheet contains individual histories with respect to symptoms, date and time of onset of symptoms, and food and beverage items consumed at the breakfast.

1.Establish a case definition? Why did you choose it? How many persons met the case-definition?

2. Determine the median incubation period and range of incubation periods for persons involved in the outbreak. Make an epi-curve to show the distribution of cases by time of onset of symptoms. What should be the proper time scale to depict case onsets?

3. Based on the symptoms and incubation periods, identify a likely causative agent, and justification for reaching this conclusion. What clinical specimens would be needed to confirm this etiology, what tests would need to be run, and what laboratories would be able to perform these tests?

4. Present a detailed evaluation of food histories. What evidence supports that any, or no food items were the cause of this outbreak. Based on the your determination of the likely agent, hypothesize how transmission occurred at this event, either by way of contaminated food, or through a possible non-foodborne route of transmission