Epidemiologic Investigation (6) Flashcards
What is a disease outbreak?
the occurrence of cases of disease in excess of what would normally be expected in a defined community, geographical area or season
What is a pandemic?
refers to an epidemic that has spread over several countries of continents, usually affecting a large number of people
What are the question for CDC investigation?
what
who
when
where
why
how
What are the first 3 CDC outbreak steps?
- confirm existence of an epidemic
- verify the diagnosis
- develop a case definition
What is the most common cause of US food borne death?
salmonella
What is the iceberg dilemma of investigation? The top? Bottom?
top: confirmed linked
bottom: at risk population
What is the first step for a salmonella outbreak?
confirm the outbreak - pulse net
receives DNA “fingerprints” of salmonella bacteria obtained through diagnostic genetic testing
What is the second step?
verify diagnosis
What is a case definition?
the standard criteria for categorizing an individual as a case
specific for an outbreak
in the case of food borne salmonella, state and federal officials will generally use pulse net fingerprint as the case definition of linked cases
What is orienting the data?
step 6
time, place, person
Testing the hypothesis (step 8) is done when?
done in longer term studies or with unknown disease than in known outbreaks like salmonella food-borne illness
What is the #1 goal of outbreak investigation?
STOP the outbreak
How do you evaluate an epi curve?
What is this?
a Point Source outbreak with no propagation
What is a point source with propagation?
distribution of cases by onset of symptoms
point source, index case with propagated spread
What is an intermittent outbreak?
may be random timing or may be associated with a periodic event
What is a continuing source?
a group of people are exposed to a single noxious influence
exposure continues over a longer time, so the outbreak persists for longer
