Outbreak Reports Presentations

These reports are intended only to summarise the analysis and recommendations, not to provide
every detail. A good test for simplicity is whether, in a sentence or two, you can tell a casual
reader what the report is about and what should be done. A report of a completed or ongoing
investigation or study answers a question of public health importance. Ideally, the answer should
be one that can guide future public health practice.

TIP: As much as possible, an Outbreak Report should read like a chronologic narrative; it should
tell the story.

Checklist of items to include when reporting on an outbreak1

REPORTING NO DESCRIPTION
ITEM
TITLE

Compose a title that includes the term “outbreak”, the disease,

TITLE 1
population or place and time.
INTRODUCTION

Describe the setting and a statement of how the outbreak came to

SETTING 2
the attention of health authorities;
Describe the events that led to the discovery of the index case of
IDENTIFICATION 3
the outbreak.
Provide the scientific context (e.g., describe the organism and
BACKGROUND 4
whether it is emerging, epidemic, endemic etc.).
Identify the clinical and public health rationale to report outbreak
RATIONALE 5 (e.g., need for heightened awareness, demonstration of a new
investigation or intervention technique).
Articulate the objective of the outbreak report. (e.g., “The objective
OBJECTIVE 6 of this report is to describe the epidemiological, diagnostic and
genetic investigation of the outbreak that occurred in --).
METHOD

Identify the start and finish dates of the outbreak and the date the
investigations began.
Describe how the end date was determined including the
OVERVIEW 7
incubation period and date of the last reported case.
Summarise the full investigation, including: case definition, case-
finding activities, method of investigation, and results.
Provide the case definitions (including confirmed, probable and
under investigation if applicable). Cases should be counted and
8
CASE FINDING described by clinical characteristics, treatment, and outcome, as
AND DATA well as time, place, and person descriptive results.
COLLECTION Describe data collection activities (for person, time and place)
9 including any questionnaire development (clinical history, risk
factor assessment).

1 Outbreak reporting guide. (2015). Canada communicable disease report = Releve des maladies
transmissibles au Canada, 41(4), 73–75. https://doi.org/10.14745/ccdr.v41i04a02
 Provide a systematic description of how the outbreak was
investigated including
INVESTIGATIONS 10 • Laboratory investigations — Types of specimens taken and
tests performed (e.g., serology, culture, or toxicology)
• Environmental sampling.
Add a brief description summarising any public health
interventions taken and the results of the interventions. Describe
the clinical and public health measures that were put in place to
control the outbreak including as applicable including
• Exposure history
INTERVENTIONS 11
• Health risk assessment,
• Clinical treatments, and
• Public health measures (e.g., quarantine, contact tracing,
surveillance, immunization clinics, risk communications
etc.).
RESULTS

DESCRIPTIVE Provide an overview of what happened by person, time and place.

12
EPIDEMIOLOGY
COMPLICATIONS 13 Identify any complications, such as hospitalizations and deaths.
EPIDEMIC Provide a figure showing the epidemic curve. In the title include
14
CURVE the disease, population/place and time (year).
FREQUENCY Include a table with demographic characteristics (e.g., age and
15
TABLE sex) and symptom frequency, if applicable.
DISCUSSION