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Discernment between deliberate and natural infectious disease outbreaks

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 August 2006

Z. F. DEMBEK ,
M. G. KORTEPETER  and
J. A. PAVLIN
Z. F. DEMBEK
Affiliation:
Department of Medicine, U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases, Fort Detrick, MD, USA
M. G. KORTEPETER
Affiliation:
Department of Medicine, Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington, D.C., USA
J. A. PAVLIN
Affiliation:
Department of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD, USA
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Abstract

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Public health authorities should be vigilant to the potential for outbreaks deliberately caused by biological agents (bioterrorism). Such events require a rapid response and incorporation of non-traditional partners for disease investigation and outbreak control. The astute application of infectious disease epidemiological principles can promote an enhanced index of suspicion for such events. We discuss epidemiological indicators that should be considered during outbreak investigations, and also examine their application during bioterrorism incidents, an accidental release of an agent, outbreaks of infections that were alleged to have been deliberately initiated, and a model scenario. The Grunow & Finke epidemiological assessment tool is used to examine these historical events and the model scenario. The results received from this analysis, coupled with an understanding of epidemiological clues to unnatural events, and knowledge of how to manage such events, can aid in the improved response and resolution of epidemics.

Type
Review Article
Information
Epidemiology & Infection , Volume 135 , Issue 3 , April 2007 , pp. 353 - 371
Copyright
2006 Cambridge University Press

Footnotes

The views expressed in this paper are those of the authors and do not reflect the official policy or position of the Department of the Army, the Department of Defense, or the U.S. Government.