5-3 FINAL PROJECT MILESTONE TWO: POPULATION
Millsap, Shelly
5-3 Final Project Milestone Two: Population
IHP-330-X6717 Principles of Epidemiology 20EW6
Southern New Hampshire University
2 5-3 FINAL PROJECT MILESTONE TWO: POPULATION
Between 1988 and 1997 a study was conducted on the residents of Tobago and Trinidad
The study was to screen the residents for various types of Salmonella infections, including
Enteritidis, Typhimurium and other Salmonella infections. Gender, age and residence were all
similar in regard to who was becoming ill with salmonella. Not only were the locals becoming
infected with salmonella, the tourists were becoming infected as well, which lead to public
concern. Once the numbers began to increase, at a rapid rate, there was a critical concern to
figure out the who, what, where, when and how this was being spread.
A social determinant is Society as they are the ones that are preparing the foods that are
going to be consumed. Another social determinant is location. In this case, there were ten farms
in Tobago and Trinidad that were supplying eggs for consumption. These farms had no microbial
surveillance to ensure the safety of the eggs that were being distributed to the residents. Of the
ten farms located in Tobago and Trinidad, six of them were deemed unsafe and not hygienic.
Another social determinant is training. Ensuring that the people are taught what they need to do
to prevent getting a Salmonella infection is the first step. Once the community understands the
illness and how to prevent getting it, they will be more aware of how to properly handle and
cook their food.
The first disparity would be that the farmers who were to be looking over the farms did
not take the appropriate safety measure to ensure that their flock was disease free. Also, there
was no safety measures put in place for those who were selling the eggs, which meant that not
only was this missed within the flock, this was also missed once the eggs were laid. Another
major disparity is the length of time it takes for a disease to be reported from the Caribbean. In
this case in particular, it stated that 56 days was the amount of time that it took for the report to
reach the agency who is keeping track. In that amount of time, there could have been hundreds of
3 5-3 FINAL PROJECT MILESTONE TWO: POPULATION
more people contracting Salmonella due to this breakdown in communication. Due to the fact
that the farms were unsanitary, the egg stands selling the eggs were not regulated and the amount
of time it takes for the report to reach the proper team, more people are being exposed to
salmonella and possible becoming ill, which if there were proper reporting in place, they would
have been able to catch this in a timely manner before it became an epidemic. It is unfortunate
that the farmers did not have the interest of the community in mind and therefore did not follow
through with ensuring