In an infectious disease outbreak, there is often an urgent need to control the outbreak and prevent the disease from spreading. An infectious disease outbreak can be costly—both in health risks and in healthcare expenditures. A common method to confirm that an outbreak is indeed occurring is to examine the surveillance data. Examining the surveillance data is also crucial throughout the outbreak to determine if the control measures were adequate.
From the assigned textbook readings this week, review the chapter, “Controlling an Outbreak of Shigellosis with a Community-Wide Intervention in Lexington County, Kentucky.”
Respond to the following:
- Examine the infectious disease outbreak of shigellosis in Lexington County, Kentucky.
- Based on the information contained within the case study, describe additional measures that could have been taken to identify and control the spread of the Shigella infection in a timely manner.
- In addition to the standard laboratory surveillance, describe other surveillance measures that would have been useful to identify the continued number of shigellosis cases.
- Suggest other strategies to monitor the potential for an outbreak of this particular infection.
Support your statements with appropriate examples and scholarly references.
Part 2: Surveillance Data and Health Implications
Surveillance systems are crucial in identifying trends both for infectious diseases and chronic diseases. The CDC maintains the Surveillance Resource Center that provides the most up-to-date data on numerous topics. Health educators and public health professionals can use this data to establish the need for health promotion programs to reduce the incidence of disease.
From the assigned readings this week, review the following Web site:
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (2010). CDC Surveillance Resource Center. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/surveillancepractice/
Using the above CDC Web site, select a health topic from the interactive database system that is of interest to you. Based on this Web site and the data you have reviewed, respond to the following:
- Briefly describe the various study designs, statistical findings, and their application in current public health topics.
- Examine the trends you have noticed for your selected topic.
- Recommend the type of health promotion program that would be effective in meeting the needs of the target population of your selected topic.