Case 2 The Flu
Case 2 The Flu
Case 2 The Flu
The Flu
(Graphing Data and Seeing Patterns)
Every year, the elementary and high school schools in Hometown have been hit by a
severe outbreak of influenza. The board of education is interested in taking action to
lessen the annual impacts of the flu. Several policies have been proposed:
• Closing the school before the flu virus reaches a peak
• Providing free vaccinations to teachers residing in the school district
• Provide free vaccinations to children residing in the school district
• Or doing nothing
Any of these options could prove costly both in real dollars and in terms of teacher or
student time missed from school. In addition, the vaccinations are known to have some
adverse side effects for some portion of the population. It has proven medically that this
particular flu strain last for 5 days.
Before making a decision on how to deal with their annual flu crises, the Board decided
to gather some data concerning the severity and timing of the problem. Unfortunately, the
board discovered that no systematic records of the severity of the flu have been kept on a
system-wide basis. The only available records are those of Mrs. Stewart, the school
nurse at the Maplewood School. Early in September, she began to notice that many
students were staying home from school. When they returned, they said that they had the
flu. Being a conscientious nurse, Mrs. Stewart had kept a careful record of recoveries
shown in the table below.
The number of students recorded on that day, as having recovered from flu is 74, which is
significantly higher than the number recorded just before or after September 18. Only 17
students are marked as having recovered on September 19. How many are listed as
recovered for the day before the peak?
The table above does not show any information for either September 16 and 17. This
seems odd, but it does not explain the peak at September 18. There could be other
missing information in table above.
Guide Questions: