1st slide

Steps in a Foodborne Outbreak

Investigation
Each multistate foodborne outbreak is extensively investigated by the CDC utilizing a 7-step procedure.

Although the procedures are listed in order, investigations are dynamic, and many steps may take place
at once.

2nd slide

Step 1: Detect a Possible Outbreak

The first step in looking into a multistate foodborne epidemic is finding the outbreak. If an epidemic
involves many sick people and they are dispersed across a large region, it may go unnoticed. Public
health surveillance techniques, such as PulseNet, official reports of illnesses, and unofficial reports of
illnesses, are used to identify outbreaks.

3rd slide

• How are outbreaks found?

• What happens when a doctor suspects a person has a foodborne
illness?
• What is the PulseNet database?

4th slide

Step 2: Define and Find Cases

For public health experts to fully comprehend the scope, timing, severity, and potential sources of an
outbreak, finding sick people is crucial. To specify who is a part of an epidemic, a case definition is
created. The case definition is used by investigators to look for diseases connected to the epidemic.
Public health authorities plot illnesses on an epidemic curve (epi curve) so they can monitor the
occurrence of illnesses over time.
5th slide

• What is a case definition?

• How are cases of illness found?
• How are cases tracked?

6th slide

Step 3: Generate Hypotheses about Likely

Sources
The process of generating hypotheses is ongoing. As new data is acquired, potential causes of an
outbreak are continuously modified or refuted. In order to determine how and where individuals in the
epidemic became ill, researchers use interviews, questionnaires, and home visits.

7th slide

• How are hypotheses generated?

• Why are interviews conducted?
• What is hypothesis-generating interviews?
• What is a shotgun questionnaire?
• What do investigators do with information collected from interviews?
• Challenges of Hypothesis Generation