Case Study - Communicable Disease Control

OVERVIEW

Following is information about a fictitious outbreak event involving a local Public Health Unit of which you are a member. You are required to work through the scenario sequentially and address the tasks outlined.

Please submit your work in a single MS Word document clearly indicating your response to each component of the assessment using Arial font 12, single line spacing. Citations/references using Harvard style or APA 6

SCENARIO

You are a member of a local Public Health Unit team In Australia. A case of hepatitis A was reported by the hospital for a 40 year old man on 1 July 2020. He is a chef in a local restaurant. He is married with 2 children aged 2 and 8. The 2 year old girl is in a child care centre and the 8 year old boy attends a primary school. His wife was born in India. No response activity has been implemented to date.

ASSIGNMENT

1. COMPONENT A

Sarah, the head of the team has called a meeting and has asked you to carry out the preliminary investigation. It is hoped that your investigation will provide clues to what is going on and what actions should be taken.

Sarah asks you to produce a short report.

TASK

1. Familiarise yourself with the natural history and epidemiology of hepatitis A
2. Conduct the initial investigation and present the report that includes:

• Causative agent, its reservoir, the mode of transmission and those most vulnerable. Include a description of the disease including its incubation period, infectious period etc
• What is the initial investigation you have conducted and how was it done? 
• Propose what subsequent investigation is needed and what control measures of further transmission are required

2. COMPONENT B

A few days later another woman is diagnosed with hepatitis A. Her daughter is at the same childcare centre with girl in the first case.  She asks you to develop a comprehensive plan to guide response activities.

TASK

1. Develop an outbreak response plan of no more than 3 pages. The plan should consider
   1. Why an outbreak is declared?
   2. List the corresponding stakeholders and communication strategy.
   3. Determine if additional investigations are needed? What other departments or organisations should be involved?
   4. What outbreak control measures should be taken?
   5. What prevention strategy can be employed to prevent future outbreaks and successful control? What are the factors to consider for implementing these strategies?