Outbreak management

Question 1

What are the 10 stages of outbreak management?

Answer 1

Recognition –> verification –> make case definition –> perform risk assessment –> assemble an outbreak management team –> disease prevention/control measures –> monitor –> generate working case hypothesis –> gather data and analyse –> feedback

Question 2

What does recognition of the outbreak involve?

Answer 2

Picked up by informal or formal local surveillance

Question 3

Routine surveillance pros and cons?

Answer 3

Enables you to see bigger picture, generate time-trend analysis, may be delayed or absent data

Question 4

Enhanced surveillance pros and cons?

Answer 4

More accurate, gives good epidemiology, labour intensive, requires commitment

Question 5

What is involved in describing the problem?

Answer 5

Person, place, time

Determine causative agent, source, those at risk, prevention strategies

Question 6

What makes a good case definition?

Answer 6

Based on epidemiology - symptoms, location, time of onset, link to index
Based on clinical - signs, symptoms, test results
Based on microbiology - based on lab results

Question 7

What is important to do quickly?

Answer 7

Find cases using active surveillance

Investigate the likely source

Question 8

How do you prevent further cases?

Answer 8

Kill/inactivate agent at source - abx, decontamination, sterilisation
Protect the host - isolation, vaccination, chemoprophylaxis
Interrupt pathway of transmission - isolation, environmental hygiene, PPE