Task Description and Instructions

Word Limit: Three (3) A4 pages in length (Maximum 1,500 words)

Description: You are working in your national level communicable disease control centre and you have been tasked with developing a Ministerial Policy Briefing Paper for the Health Minister and a Holding Media Statement for public release about a potential outbreak of a food borne illness arising from the distribution of contaminated goods at one of the country’s largest supermarket outlets. 

Page 1 & 2: The Ministerial Policy Briefing Paper must contain sufficient scientifically correct information about the potential emerging outbreak that will enable the Minister to advocate for funds to develop a Communicable Disease Outbreak Control Plan. 

Your Ministerial Briefing Paper (1000 words) should include:

1. Executive Summary (convince the reader the issue is important)
2. Background, context and importance of the problem: (What is the problem? What is the root cause? Why is it important? What can you do about it? What current approach / policy isn't working? )
3. Consultation actions and outcomes
4. Resources implications
5. Recommendations (What do you suggest we do?)

Page 3: The Media Holding Statement will be the initial official statement released by the Government Health Department designed to help control the message to the public on identification of the outbreak. This initial statement must state the basic facts of the incident and lets people know how you are actively dealing with the crisis situation. (500 Words)

Page 4: Reference List. Policy Briefs and Media Holding Statement are not generally referenced. However, for purposes of this assessment item the submitted items must draw on evidence from academic literature and be referenced adequately and appropriately (APA or Vancouver preferred). The Reference List will not be count in the word limit or 3 page limit)

Structure and Submission

Structure and Format

1. A title page with student name, number , course code and title, due date (Including any approved extension dates) must be included
2. Assessments must be written in Times Roman Numeral / Arial (Minimum 11pt) with 1.5 Line spacing and standard page margins. Pages must be numbered and include student name and number in the footer. 
3. The Reference List is not included in the word count, however, In-text references are included in the word count. Also Vancouver referencing style is recommended.

1. The Three (3) pages and 1,500 word limit is not a guide. It is a set limit. Penalties will be applied for assessment items 10% under or over the set three (3) page or word limit of 1,500words

Executive Statement of Issue

• Hemorrhagic colitis has impacted several healthy individuals within a span of 18-20 days. Most of the patients affected with the outbreak have experienced loose stools, abdominal cramps and a low-grade fever (1).   
• The laboratory assessment of the patients' stool has revealed E. coli O157: H7 as the causative organism of the reported hemorrhagic colitis (1). 
• An outbreak response is substantially needed in the wake of the reported hemorrhagic colitis. Food Safety and Modernization convention advocate the need for surveillance measures while enhancing the quality of the outbreak response (2). Food safety practices standards should effectively comply with the Food Standards Code and Food Act (3). 
• Hemorrhagic colitis is a contagious disease that poses a serious health risk for young and elderly patients. Infected individuals experience high predisposition towards the development of hemolytic uremic syndrome complications, including cardiac problems, coma, stroke, hypertension, and renal failure. Furthermore, the infected patients exhibit 5% risk for mortality under the impact of critical complications (4).    
• The reported hemorrhagic colitis continues to progress under the impact of contaminated food. The immediate priority relates the medicinal treatment of the infected patients and barricading the transfer of the contaminated food items into the marketplaces.
• The severe ischemic deterioration under the impact of hemorrhagic colitis will require complex clinical interventions, including hemicolectomy (5). This will not only elevate the mortality risk of critically ill patients but also increase the overall healthcare burden to a considerable extent.   
• The ineffective host-immune responses in the absence of necessary healthcare interventions will result in the enhancement of the treatment cost. The infected individuals will experience a high risk of acquiring post-infectious inflammatory bowel syndrome and associated complications (6). 
• The increased prevalence of the hemorrhagic colitis will substantially disrupt the nurse-patient ratio under the impact of an elevated work burden. E. coli pathogenesis and associated treatment interventions will require additional health insurance coverage for the treated patients. This will drastically impact the healthcare revenue cycle management across the outbreak region. 
• The Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157: H7 reportedly causes serious human disease on a global scale. Therefore, the timely and systematic engagement of human resources and healthcare teams is highly warranted to minimize the occurrence of adversities and sociolegal implications (7). 
• The systematic utilization of the existing health care system will substantially benefit and enhance the healthcare outcomes and challenge further progression of hemorrhagic colitis. 

Background 

1. Healthcare professionals have reported 35 cases of hemorrhagic colitis during the last two weeks. The population of the selected region includes most non-vegetarians who consume cooked meat. 
2. The underprivileged sections in the region fail to follow the basic norms related to health and hygiene. The dieticians and food processing experts suspect the increased utilization of E. coli infected meat products by the predisposed individuals. 
3. The socioeconomically deprived people fail to practice preventive and prophylactic measures to combat the progression of hemorrhagic colitis. 
4. The conventional treatment interventions fail to challenge the disease outbreak. This necessitates the requirement of developing a comprehensive action plan to reduce the risk of co-morbidities and mortality across the region.  

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