Ever wonder why the number of cases in a foodborne outbreak can increase for weeks, even after the contaminated food is off the market? A series of events happen before public health officials can report that a case of illness is linked to an outbreak.
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention developed a short-training video demonstrating a surveillance system timeline for identifying and reporting cases in foodborne outbreaks.
Surveillance systems are the first line of defense in identifying potential foodborne outbreaks. These systems collect and analyze data from various sources, such as laboratory reports, hospital admissions, and consumer complaints. Environmental health professionals need to understand how these surveillance systems work to detect unusual patterns or clusters of illness that might indicate an outbreak.