Containment of a fatal and highly infectious disease outbreak

¹Public Health Emergency Operations Center, Ministry of Health, Kampala, Uganda, ²African Field Epidemiology Network, Kampala, Uganda, ³National Public Health Laboratory (NPHL), National Tuberculosis Reference Laboratory (NTRL), Khartoum, Sudan, ⁴Municipal Health Directorate, Disease Control and Surveillance Unit, Ghana Health Service, Kpando, Ghana, ⁵Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine, Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology, Bernhard-Nocht-Strasse 74, 20359 Hamburg, Germany, ⁶Global Partnership Initiated Biosecurity Academia for Controlling Health Threats (GIBACHT), Hamburg, Germany, ⁷Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Department Education and Training, Basel, Switzerland, ⁸University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland, ⁹Global Partnership Initiated Biosecurity Academia for Controlling Health Threats (GIBACHT), Basel, Switzerland

^&Corresponding author
Eva Mertens, Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine, Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology, Bernhard-Nocht-Strasse 74, 20359 Hamburg, Germany

How to use this case study    

General instructions: this case study is best used as adjunct training materials to bolster concepts taught to learners during in-person training sessions. During the implementation of this case study 15 learners should be matched to one facilitator in a training room preferably at a round table. Each participant should be issued a copy of the case study prior to its implementation. The facilitator guide remains with the facilitator and should only be availed to the participants at the end of the case study implementation. The facilitator introduces the case study including learning objectives and makes mention of the requisite materials that participants should have at hand before starting the case study implementation. These materials will include the reference epidemic curve and calendar in annex 1 of the case study, a note book, pen and calculator. Participants should take turns to read the case scenario and the questions or tasks that immediately follow the scenario paragraphs. The reader on each turn should attempt to provide the answer or solution to the task. The task should then be opened up to the discussion of the rest of the group for concurrence on the most correct answers. The facilitator should make probes to stimulate participants to elucidate and arrive at the correct responses. Hints and facilitator notes are provided for use by the facilitator to steer the discussion in the direction which unlocks the puzzle. In the event that the solutions are not forthcoming the facilitator should provide them to the participants with reference to the facilitator´s guide.

Audience: this case study has been designed to foster capacities among public health scientists including epidemiologists, doctors, nurses, biomedical laboratory scientists working at national departments of surveillance and public health emergencies, district surveillance departments and training institutions of field epidemiology programs.

Prerequisites: by the time of implementing this case study, participants should have undergone training in Integrated disease surveillance and response, outbreak investigations, incident management processes and epidemiological data analysis and interpretation.

Materials: pen, notebook, calculator, epi-curve in annex 1 and calendar in annex 2.

Level of training and associated public health activity: intermediate public health surveillance officers in national, regional and or provincial public health surveillance departments and residents in Field Epidemiology Training Programs.

Time required: Approximately 3.5 hours

Language: English

Case study material     

• Download the case study student guide (PDF - 875 KB)
• Request the case study facilitator guide: contact info@gibacht.org

Competing interests     

The authors declare no competing interests.

Acknowledgement     

The authors wish to acknowledge the Global Partnership Initiated Academia for Controlling Health Threats (GIBACHT) and their funding body, the German Federal Foreign Office, for their support in developing this case study.

References