Outbreak: Resources

Section	Name	Description
Module 1: Lesson 1: Introduction	Basic Epidemiological Definitions	This book on Principles of Epidemiology in Public Health Practice from the CDC will provide you with basic epidemiological definitions to understand the principles of Outbreak Investigation. Read Section 1 pages 2-3, and Section 1 pages 72-73
	Cluster Investigations of Non-Infectious Health Events	This article provides an overview of the definition of Cluster and how to perform Cluster investigation. Read pages 1, 2 and 3 until section Step 1: Initial ascertainment of cluster
	International Health Regulations (IHR)	Read the IHR coordinated by the World Health Organization (WHO) that aims to keep the world informed about public health risks and events.
	Deciding whether to investigate a possible outbreak	Read the section on Deciding whether to investigate a possible outbreak
	Natural History and Spectrum of Disease	This book on Principles of Epidemiology in Public Health Practice from the CDC will help you understand the natural history of disease. Read Section 1 pages 52-68
	Steps in an outbreak investigation	This brief resource outlines the steps to follow during an outbreak investigation according to the CDC.
	Pandemics: Risks, Impacts, and Mitigation	This book on Disease Control Priorities: Improving Health and Reducing Poverty will help you understand the main reasons to investigate an outbreak. Read pages 315-325
	WHO Disease Outbreak News and Weekly Epidemiological Report	Reports of current verified outbreaks are included in the weekly WHO Disease Outbreak News. The Weekly Epidemiological report (WER) provides epidemiological information on cases and outbreaks of disease of public health importance.
	ProMed	The global reporting system for outbreaks of emerging infectious diseases & toxins, open to all sources. ProMed- mail the Program Monitoring Emerging Diseases, is a program of the International Society for Infectious Diseases.
	U.S. FoodNet Population Survey data	Useful resource from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for identifying food consumption patterns.
	Public Health Agency of Canada Surveillance	Canadian government surveillance sistem of infectious and non infectious diseases.
	FluWatch	FluWatch is Canada's national surveillance system that monitors the spread of flu and flu-like illnesses. FluWatch reports with information on flu activity in Canada are posted every Friday.
	Canada Communicable Disease Report (CCDR) Weekly	The Canada Communicable Disease Report (CCDR) Weekly provides reports of national and international communicable disease issues and incidents.
	West Nile Surveillance Information	Learn about the different types of surveillance for West Nile virus and the reported number of cases in humans.

Module 2: Lesson 1: Prepare for Field Work - Step 1	The outbreak management team	The Field Epidemiology Manual Wiki from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). Read the entire section on The outbreak management team.
	Step 1 - Prepare for field work	This brief resource explains the scientific and operational preparations that must be carried out to start an Outbreak Investigation.
	Regulations and Laws That May Apply During a Pandemic	Read the entire resource to understand how regulations an laws relate to outbreak responses.

Module 2: Lesson 2: Establish the Existence of an Outbreak - Step 2	Step 2 - Establish the existence of an Outbreak	This brief resource explains how outbreaks are recognized, and the role of surveillance in outbreak detection.
	Outbreaks in Health Care Settings	This article refers to when clusters require investigation and how are pseudo-outbreaks recognized. Read the sections Approach to an Outbreak and Pseudo-outbreaks

Module 2: Lesson 3: Verify the Diagnosis - Step 3	Step 3 - Verify the Diagnosis	This brief resource explains how to use clinical and laboratory features to confirm the diagnosis.

Module 2: Lesson 4: Construct a Working Case Definition - Step 4	Step 4 - Construct a working case definition	This brief resource explains the criteria to create an adequate case definition that includes clinical criteria, time, person and place.

Module 3: Lesson 1: Find Cases Systematically and Record Information - Step 5	Step 5 - Find cases systematically and record information	This brief resource explains how to create a line list to identify and track cases.

Module 3: Lesson 2: Perform Descriptive Epidemiology - Step 6	Step 6 - Perform descriptive epidemiology	Read the entire section on Step 6: Perform descriptive epidemiology from the US Center for disease control and prevention.

Module 3: Lesson 3: Develop Hypotheses - Step 7	Step 7 - Develop hypotheses	This brief resource explains how to develop a hypothesis.

Module 3: Lesson 4: Evaluate Hypotheses Epidemiologically - Step 8	Step 8 - Evaluate hypotheses epidemiologically	Read the entire section on Step 8: Evaluate hypotheses epidemiologically from the US Center for disease control and prevention.

Module 3: Lesson 5: As Necessary, Reconsider, Refine, and Re-evaluate Hypotheses - Step 9	Step 9: Reconsider, refine, and re-evaluate hypotheses	Read the entire section on Step 9: Reconsider, refine, and re-evaluate hypotheses from the US Center for disease control and prevention.

Module 4: Lesson 1: Compare and Reconcile with Laboratory and Environmental Studies - Step 10	Step 10: Compare and reconcile with laboratory and environmental studies	Read the entire section on Step 10: Compare and reconcile with laboratory and environmental studies from the US Center for disease control and prevention.

Module 4: Lesson 2: Implement Control and Prevention Measures - Step 11	Step 11 - Implement control and prevention measures	This Guidelines for the Investigation and Control of Disease Outbreaks from the Institute of Environmental Science and Research will teach you how to approach control measures during an outbreak Read Section: Outbreak control measures from pages 86-88
	Medical Consequences of Drug Abuse and Co-occurring Infections	Read the content under the headings "Abstract" "Medical Consequences: Brief Review and Research at NIDA" "Psychiatric Conditions Complicating Hepatitis C", and "Drug Interactions"
	Outbreak investigation of needle sharing-induced malaria, Ahvaz, Iran	Read the entire article

Module 4: Lesson 3: Initiate or Maintain Surveillance - Step 12	Step 12: Initiate or Maintain Surveillance	This Guidelines for the Investigation and Control of Disease Outbreaks from the Institute of Environmental Science and Research will provide you a brief summary on how surveillance systems are used during outbreaks Read Section: Surveillance to detect outbreaks from pages 19-22
	Data collection	To perform active surveillance, you will need to be familiar with data collection techniques, this resource will provide you with templates and an example on data collection.

Module 4: Lesson 4: Communicate Findings - Step 13	13. Communicate findings	This short resource will provide you with information regarding the contents of a final report.