complete an epidemiological research study report based on the provided research study, “
Salmonella in the Caribbean
.” Throughout the course, you will complete milestone assignments that are drafts of specific sections of the final project. Because these milestone assignments are drafts of the final project, you will notice that some critical elements in the rubric are identical to those in the Final Project Rubric.
In your first Milestone, you reviewed the research study and analyzed the health issue at the core of the research study. In this second Milestone, you will summarize key elements of the research study and analyze the population impacted by the health issue. Additionally, you will complete Part F of the Health Issue section, in which you will draw connections between the population and public health issue.
Prompt
To begin, review the final project research study, “Salmonella in the Caribbean.” Then, address the following critical elements in your short paper:
Population: In this section of your final project, you will summarize key elements of the research study and analyze the population impacted by the health issue.
Summarize the people, places, and times represented in the research study to provide context for your report.
Describe three social and behavioral determinants strongly associated with the public health issue in the research study. Be sure to cite specific examples from the research study to support your description.
Describe three known disparities associated with the health of the specific population. Be sure to cite specific examples from the research study to support your description.
Explain how the identified social and behavioral determinants relate to the disparities you identified, and explain your reasoning.
Using your research and analysis, draw connections between the population and public health issue. Consider where you identified common elements, what you learned about the public health issue by studying the population, and what you learned about the population by studying the public health issue.
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Milestone One Health
Dania Atieh
Southern New Hampshire University
Module 3-3
Milestone One Health
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The health issue that is the focus of the research study is salmonellosis, which is caused
by the serotypes of the salmonella enterica specie. As a pathogen that causes most food-borne
diseases, knowledge of the risk factors for salmonella infections and the mode transmission of
the pathogen is important for epidemiological studies. Also, the determination of the incidence
and prevalence of the disease within a population, mortality rate, and odds ratio for contracting
the disease is equally important. Hence, the purpose of this paper is to examine these important
epidemiological parameters for salmonellosis from the assigned research study and findings from
independent research.
Risk Factors
The risk factors for salmonellosis are the consumption of raw and undercooked food
items, age, level of immunity, and use of medications. According to Indar-Harrinauth et al.
(2004), the consumption of raw and undercooked food items such as eggs and other dairy
products is a significant risk factor for the disease. Also, Guillier et al. (2021) stated that the
increased atmospheric temperature during the summer months of June, July, and August is
another major risk factor for the development of salmonellosis in a healthy person after contact
with the pathogen. Regarding the age-related risk factors, healthy children under 5 years old are
more susceptible to salmonella infection than adults, while medications that reduce stomach
acidity also increase an individual risk of contracting salmonella infection after exposure to the
pathogen. Therefore, these risk factors play a significant role in the mode of transmission of
salmonellosis from a host to a healthy person.
Mode of Transmission
The mode of transmission of Salmonellosis in more than 90% of patients is the fecal-oral
route from animals to humans through the consumption of contaminated food and water or direct
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contact with animals. According to Indar-Harrinauth et al. (2004), beef, poultry, milk, and eggs
are the main food items that are contaminated with feces from animal hosts of salmonella
enteritis and are involved in most reported cases of salmonellosis globally. Popa and Papa (2021)
also noted in their study that water, fruits, and vegetables and direct contact with pets, chickens,
and other birds are additional sources of contamination that support the fecal-oral route of
transmission of salmonellosis from infected and asymptomatic animals to humans. Hence, this
mode of transmission remains the only one for the various outbreaks of salmonellosis across the
world.
Incidence and Prevalence
Furthermore, the Salmonella in the Caribbean case study presented data for determining
the incidence and prevalence of salmonellosis in Trinidad & Tobago over 10 years. According to
the data presented by Indar-Harrinauth et al. (2004), the total number of cases of all serotypes of
salmonellosis from 1988 to 1997 was 836 in an estimated population of 1,265,000. To calculate
the incidence of salmonellosis during a 10-year period, the total number of cases (836) is divided
by the population at risk (1,265,000) to give 0.000660 cases per person within 10 years. It means
that the incidence rate for salmonellosis is 6.6 cases per 10,000 persons. Regarding salmonellosis
prevalence, the value can be determined using the total number of cases of salmonella enteritidis
during the time (246) since these are people with characteristics to develop the disease in a
population. Hence, the prevalence of salmonellosis in Trinidad & Tobago from 1988 to 1997 is
0.000194 cases per 10,000 persons.
Mortality Rate
The mortality rate for the outbreak of a disease is the total number of deaths due to the
disease within the total population during a period. Regarding the research study, Indar-
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Harrinauth et al. (2004) did not report any deaths from salmonellosis during the 10 years in
Trinidad & Tobago. Hence, the mortality rate for the country is 0 per 10,000 persons.
Interpretation of Odds Ratio
Finally, the analysis of the odds ratio for determining the potential of contracting the
disease from exposure to sources of salmonella enteritidis showed that the odds ratio of 18.9 with
a p-value of 0.001 makes the consumption of food with raw or undercooked eggs a leading
source of exposure. Similarly, the review of the data presented by Indar-Harrinauth et al. (2004)
showed that the odds ratio of 8.8 with a p-value of
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