Post-Event
Operational Issues
Epidemiological
Investigation
Purpose & Initial
Phase
During the initial
phases of an outbreak, the goal of your investigations will be
to establish the diagnosis, identify contacts, identify the source
of the initial exposure, and ascertain if there are any unusual
features of the outbreak.
Ongoing Phase
If transmission
is ongoing, the goal will be to monitor and describe the outbreak
and to continue to identify contacts in order to intervene with
the appropriate public health measures. Monitor outbreak by person,
place and time characteristics, this would include information
on mortality, morbidity and transmission settings. Identify contacts
for tracing, vaccination and surveillance.
It will be important
for public health and medical authorities/responders to remain
flexible and ready to alter strategies quickly. Scenarios may turn
out differently from what is predicted by early investigation data.
Prior to a smallpox bioterrorism event, we have no way of knowing
whether we would see a few cases or a large-scale event. There
is also the theoretical possibility that the virus strain was altered
to make it more virulent or less affected by vaccine-induced immunity.
Planners should be prepared to analyze the data for any unusual
characteristics of the outbreak in order to adjust response strategies
appropriately.
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