Course Project Part 5 Scenario

Investigation Update Day 3

•    Ill residents’ GI symptoms have ended.

•    Preliminary laboratory results have returned. The raw stool samples of all six ill residents were positive for Clostridium perfringens enterotoxin. Additional testing is needed to determine the toxin level of each specimen.

•      Still zero new cases of GI illness have been reported

•    Frozen samples of food known to harbor C.

perfringens and were consumed during the suspected exposure period were submitted for lab testing. The samples submitted included: Chopped pork with and without barbeque sauce and the barbeque sauce alone.

•      Kitchen and cottage staff explained that hot food is kept in a food pan in a warmer until it is moved to a steam line for staff to place appropriate proportions on a resident’s meal tray. The kitchen manager or supervisor is charged with monitoring food temperatures to ensure the food maintains a safe temperature. If the temperature is low, pathogens may grow in the food and cause illness. It takes about an hour to distribute the meals.

•    The state medical examiner is expected to provide the cause of death for the resident who died.