Introduction

In Deeville, Oregon, people are getting sick. Hospitals are filling up with patients who all have very similar symptoms. They are experiencing enlarged and tender lymph nodes, fever, chills, and heat exhaustion. Other patients exhibit these symptoms, but also have abdominal pain, cough, and have difficulty breathing. Physicians are confused; some of these patients are family members and others are complete strangers. The symptoms seem as if they are connected but a pattern is not immediately seen. If this is an epidemic, though, the doctors need to know what it is and how to treat it immediately.... otherwise, it could mean the end of Deeville.

Task

It is your team's job as Epidemic Intelligence Service Officers (http://www.cdc.gov/eis/)to investigate and identify this "outbreak", determine the causes of the epidemic and how it is transmitted, and design a presentation to give to the physicians regarding the history of this particular disease. The presentation should also include preventative measures for the general public and the treatment options available for these patients. After a group decision on the identity of this disease, each team member will have one specialized role in addition to the final group presentation.

Possible websites to search for disease

FamilyDoctor http://familydoctor.org/symptom.xml?element=flowchart

WrongDiagnosis http://www.wrongdiagnosis.com/symptomcenter.htm

Bacterial and Viral information Links http://www.madison.k12.wi.us/jmm/disease.htm

1. As a registered nurse (R.N.) with a Master's degree in Public Health, you will determine the causes of the epidemic. What is the culprit behind the disease? Is it a bacteria? A virus? A fungus? A parasite? What does it look like? Give support for why it is likely that the disease is caused by your findings.

2. Your job as the Veterinarian (DVM) is to investigate how the disease is transmitted, or infects other people. Is it air-borne or blood-borne? Are animals involved or does the disease move person-to-person? Does it require a certain temperature? How close do the people have to be to become infected? Give support.

3. Epidemiology, the study of diseases, has always been an interest of yours through doctoral school. That is why you got your PhD in it! It is your job as the disease historian to study how the disease has progressed through the years. When was it first recognized? How did they treat it then? Are there pictures or documents from the past that can help find a cure or treatment today? 4. Since preventative measures and treatment are your strong suit as a M.D., you will discover how the disease is treated now and if there is a cure. Is there anything people can do to ensure that they do not become infected? Are there medications to take or surgery to have done? Your findings are crucial to the future of this disease and to the public.

The final group presentation will be in a format of your choice. You may create a poster showing each of the elements of this outbreak, pamphlets, a PowerPoint presentation, or you may create your own design on teacher approval. Each presentation will be given in front of the class as a group and every person is responsible for knowing each of its parts. One paper will be turned in for every group as a printed form of their presentation. Grading rubric is attached.

Process

1. You will be assigned to an investigative team of 4 students.

2. After numbering off in class, each number will be assigned a role on the team. The roles are 1) R.N. with Masters degree in Public Health; 2) DVM; 3) PhD; 4) MD.

3. We will discuss what each of these roles requires you to research and investigate.

4. After review of the WebQuest assignments, your team will have a meeting to talk about what the symptoms and description of the case could reveal about this mystery disease.

5. As a team, decide what disease you believe may be taking its toll on Deeville.

6. After disease identification, your team will begin work on your individual roles.

7. Use research tools on the Web, in journals, and in books.

RNs Virtual Museum of bacteria http://www.bacteriamuseum.org/niches/wabacteria/bacteria.shtml

Parasites of Public Health concern http://www.dpd.cdc.gov/dpdx/HTML/Para_Health.htm

CDC National Center for Infectious Diseases http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/disinfo/disease.htm

NOAH New York Online Access to Health http://www.noah- health.org/en/infectious/diseases/viral/

DVMs: *use the RN and MD websites for information on transmission

PhDs A brief history of infectious diseases*check the article titles at the left of the page http://www.bayerpharma-na.com/healthcare/hc0102.asp

Disease in History http://www.bignell.uk.com/disease_in_history.htm

History of Vaccines http://www.who.int/vaccines-diseases/history/history.shtml Old Medical Dictionary http://members.aol.com/AdamCo9991/medicalterminolgy.html

MDs Web MD http://www.webmd.com/medical_information/condition_centers/default.htm

Healthfinder http://www.healthfinder.gov/library/

World Health Organization http://www.who.int/en/

Evaluation

Each student will be given an individual grade based on their performance in their role specific tasks. You will not be given a score for a section to which you were not assigned. During the presentation, each student should be prepared to answer questions from any section. Group scores are based on the presentation of the final display and paper.

Conclusion

Through this WebQuest, library research, and group presentation, you have been exposed to the different levels of disease research, prevention/treatment, and societal impact of diseases. Each of these steps are necessary to understand how microscopic entities can affect our lives. You have also learned to search for information on the internet and in the library and connect to websites that are specifically concerned with public health. The individual roles in the lesson also allowed you to investigate the many careers you may pursue that would be very useful in the fields of medicine and epidemiology.

A few things to think about: *What steps would epidemiologists need to take if the disease has never been seen before? *How could a new disease develop? When is it considered a "new" disease? *With the widespread availability of the internet, is self-diagnosis becoming more common? *Why are certain areas of the world more likely to show higher rates of infection than others?

Additional websites

Medical Careers http://www.southcentraltxahec.org/html/videolibrary.htm

U S Dept of Human Health and Resources http://www.os.dhhs.gov/

American Public Health Association http://www.apha.org

Due Date

Presentation and final Paper due Tuesday, December 13th