Name:
_________Alexia Gutierrez_______________
BIOL 2041 Microbiology (Fall 2023)
Module 20 Worksheet – Emerging Disease Case Study
Case Study Question #1
What factor(s) do these first two cases have in common?
From both cases it is seen that both patient have a background history of coming in contact with
animals, where both patients form both cases had a high fever no to mention damaged lungs,
while being infectious towards family members
Case Study Question #2
Based on the information about the spread of the disease in this hotel, how does the pathogen
most likely spread from one person to another?
It seems to be the pathogen is most likely spreading
in the 9
th
floor, through the air, reason being
as the previous guest who stayed in that particular hotel room could have been infected, either
coughing and or sneezing, resulting the virus to be airborne, and touching objects around the
room without sanitizing for cleaning afterwards can result in the next guest becoming infected as
well if they touch their face if the infected objects were tampered with.
Case Study Question #3
What human activity(ies) contributed to the rapid spread of this disease across the world?
This disease could have been spread via local transmission, as people would travel around the
world an individual who was infectious could have spread the pathogen though coughing,
sneezing, touching things etc. resulting the pathogen to be airborne, which could have spread
throughout and around the community.
Case Study Question #4
What are the major health approaches that helped to stop the SARS outbreak of 2002-2003
(Note: there was never a vaccine)? What are likely some of the reasons why the spread of SARS-
CoV-2 was not as easily controlled? Provide at least one scientific source (citation of a
publication in a scientific journal or a link to a report on a reputable public health website) to
support your answer to the second question.
Considering that SARS was a highly transmittable disease, individuals who were infected took
the precautionary measures to isolate themselves from individuals who were not infected, as well
as wearing face masks and care physicians taking the proper cautionary measures to dress in
protective gear all
to prevent the disease from spreading to non- infected individuals. This
disease highly targeted the respiratory system, meaning this virus could be transmitted via
airborne with direct or indirect contact, therefore not taking the proper precautions such as
wearing a mask can risk other individuals of infection, including unprotect eyes/exposed mucous
membranes are at risk of infection (Jun Zheng, 2020). Regardless if transmission was indirect or
direct any individual within proximity of an infected individual could become infected, not to
mention most individuals who were infected were asymptomatic.
