Health officials in Illinois sought the aid of an AI chatbot to decipher a mysterious outbreak connected to a county fair. However, the chatbotās usefulness is still uncertain.
According to the latest Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, the puzzle began when the Brown County sheriff noticed on August 5, 2024, that an unusual number of potential jurors reported having a stomach bug. By August 12, the state health department alerted the county to a case of Salmonella enterica serotype Agbeni.
With this information, county health officials launched an investigation and identified 13 cases of illnessāseven confirmed cases of S. enterica Agbeni and six probable cases among individuals in close contact with those infected. The cases spanned five counties, but a common link emerged: all had attended the Brown County fair.
This annual event is a highlight for the rural community of about 4,200 residents, attracting roughly 36,000 visitors from nearby areas each year. The 2024 fair, held from July 30 to August 4, had already ended by the time investigators identified the fair as the nexus of the outbreaks. Initially, they suspected a food vendor since Salmonella is commonly associated with food poisoning, originating from animals like poultry and cattle.
However, further interviews revealed that four of the affected persons had not consumed any food at the fair, prompting investigators to rule out food as the source. Notably, there were significant hygiene issues as the event featured portable bathrooms and inadequate handwashing facilities; ten of the patients admitted neglecting hand hygiene. Nevertheless, the unanimous factor was that all 13 patients drank a cold, canned beer from the fairās temporary beer tent.
The Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report highlighted that the fair's beer tent utilized a large makeshift cooler made from āa 10-ft length of non-food-grade corrugated black plastic farm drainage tile with four compartments.ā This cooler was initially rinsed off at the fair's start but was never thoroughly cleaned again; it was refilled daily with ice, produced from municipal tap water, as it melted. Beer tent workers used bare hands to handle beer cans and ice, raising serious hygiene concerns.