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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