The Unfortunate Nurse

A Case Study of Dengue Fever and Social Policy

Author:	Karen M. Aguirre Department of Biology Coastal Carolina University kmaguirr@coastal.edu
Abstract:	Dengue (pronounced "deng-ee") is a viral disease transmitted by the bite of an infected mosquito, usually Aedes aegypti. It is common in tropical regions, especially Southeast Asia, India, South and Central America, and Mexico. There is concern that as tourism and modern travel shrink the planet to create a "global village," dengue could emerge as a major health problem and societal burden. This case study introduces students to "emerging pathogens" and other concepts in parasitology, immunology, epidemiology, and public policy by examining an actual incident in which dengue virus was transmitted by an accidental needlestick. Several activities are involved, including analysis of primary literature, in-class reading of scripted dialogue, creation of PowerPoint presentations, and design of short educational brochures on dengue. Students also learn about two modern techniques widely used in medical and research settings (i.e., EIA and Taqman RT-PCR). The case is suitable for general education biology, cell biology, microbiology, immunology, and science and public policy courses.
Objectives:	Read and analyze a scientific paper, identifying and researching unknown terminology. Become familiar with the idea of nosocomial infection. Become familiar with the idea of emerging pathogens. Explore the complex virus/mosquito vector/host infection strategy of dengue virus. Become familiar with the following techniques: EIA (ELISA), differential cell counts, and RT-PCR. Explore the idea of “agenda” in science and ethics and politics in public policy-making.
Keywords:	Dengue virus; breakbone disease; mosquito vector; Aedes aegypti; nosocomial infection; needlestick; emerging pathogens; immigration and disease; enzyme-linked-immunoabsorbent assay; EIA, ELISA, RT-PCR
Topical Area:	Ethics, Policy issues, Social justice issues
Educational Level:	High school, Undergraduate lower division, Undergraduate upper division
Formats:	PDF
Type/Method:	Journal Article, Role-Play, Student Presentations
Language:	English
Subject Headings:	Public Health Nursing Epidemiology Microbiology Cell Biology Biology (General)
Date Posted:	05/13/07
Date Modified:	N/A
Copyright:	Copyright held by the National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science, University at Buffalo, State University of New York. Please see our usage guidelines, which outline our policy concerning permissible reproduction of this work.

Teaching Notes

Case teaching notes are intended to help teachers select and adopt a case. They typically include a summary of the case, teaching objectives, information about the intended audience and how the case may be taught, a case analysis or answer key, and references.

Download Teaching Notes

Answer Key

Answer keys provide answers to the questions posed in a case study. Since these questions are intended to be answered by students and are often graded, answer keys are password-protected and access to them is limited to registered instructors.

In the table of blood work, I think you should have microliters, not milliliters. The original paper has microliters.

Sue Hutchins
Biology Department
Itasca Community College
Grand Rapids, MN
sue.hutchins@itascacc.edu
3/30/2012

Name:
Email:
Department:
Institution:
City State:
Comments:
	Enter Security Code:

Username
Password

	Register \| Lost Your Password?