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outbreak

 
Dictionary: out·break   (out'brāk') pronunciation
n.
  1. A sudden increase: an outbreak of influenza.
  2. A sudden eruption; an outburst: "an outbreak of strikes, violent agitation, and arrests" (Samuel Chew).

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Thesaurus: outbreak
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noun

  1. A sudden increase in something, as the occurrence of a disease: epidemic, plague, rash2. See increase/decrease.
  2. The act of emerging violently from limits or restraints: eruption, explosion, outburst. See explosion/collapse.
  3. A sudden violent expression, as of emotion: access, blowup, burst, eruption, explosion, fit2, flare-up, gust, outburst. See explosion/collapse.

Antonyms: outbreak
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n

Definition: very sudden happening
Antonyms: conclusion, end, finale


n. the sudden or violent start of something unwelcome, such as war, disease, etc.: the outbreak of World War II.

See the Introduction, Abbreviations and Pronunciation for further details.

Wikipedia: Outbreak
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Outbreak is a term used in epidemiology to describe an occurrence of disease greater than would otherwise be expected in a particular time and place. It may be small and localized group or impact upon thousands of people across an entire continent. Two linked cases of a rare infectious disease may be sufficient to constitute an outbreak. Outbreaks may also refer to epidemics, which affect a region in a country or a group of countries, or pandemics, which describe global disease outbreaks.

Contents

Outbreak investigation

When investigating disease outbreaks, the epidemiology profession has developed a number of widely accepted steps. As described by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, these include the following[1]:

  • Verify the diagnosis related to the outbreak
  • Identify the existence of the outbreak: is the group of ill persons normal for the time of year, geographic area, etc.?
  • Create a case definition to define who/what is included as a case
  • Complete descriptive epidemiology: describe outbreak with respect to time, place, and people
  • Develop a hypothesis: what appears to be causing the outbreak?
  • Study hypothesis: collect data and perform analysis
  • Refine hypothesis and carry out further study
  • Develop and implement control and prevention systems
  • Release findings to greater community

Types

There are several outbreak patterns, which can be useful in identifying the transmission method or source, and predicting the future rate of infection. Each has a distinctive epidemic curve, or histogram of case infections and deaths.[2]

  • Common source - All victims acquire the infection from the same source (e.g. a contaminated water source).[3]
    • Continuous source - Common source outbreak where the exposure occurs over multiple incubation periods.
    • Point source - Common source outbreak where the exposure occurs in less than one incubation period[4]
  • Propagated - Transmission occurs from person to person.[5]

Outbreaks can also be:

patterns of occurence are:

  • epidemic- a communicable disease, such as influenza, measles, mumps, pneumonia, colds, small pox found permanently in a particular region or population.
  • endemic- when this disease is found to infect "a lot of" people at the same time and may spread through one or several community.
  • pandemic- occurs when the epidemic spreads across the world.

Outbreak legislation

Outbreak legislation is still in its infancy and not many countries have had a direct and complete set of the provisions [7], [8]. However, some countries do manage the outbreaks using relevant acts, such as public health law [9].

Notes

  1. ^ EXCITE | Epidemiology in the Classroom | Outbreak Steps
  2. ^ http://ccnmtl.columbia.edu/projects/epiville/study5d.html
  3. ^ http://www.cdc.gov/excite/library/glossary.htm#outbreakcommonsource
  4. ^ http://www.cdc.gov/excite/library/glossary.htm#outbreakpointsource
  5. ^ http://www.cdc.gov/excite/library/glossary.htm#outbreakpropagated
  6. ^ http://www.cdc.gov/doc.do/id/0900f3ec802272e6
  7. ^ Bioterrorism Training and Curriculum Development Program. "Outbreak Law". http://library.scahec.net/view/product/32. Retrieved 2 August 2008. 
  8. ^ Star Publications. "‘Outbreak actions protected by law’". http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/7/16/courts/21834412&sec=courts. Retrieved 2 August 2008. 
  9. ^ The State of Queensland Government. "Legislation and Powers of Entry". http://www.health.qld.gov.au/dengue/managing_outbreaks/legislation.asp. Retrieved 2 August 2008. 

External links

  • Outbreak Alerts Resource for breaking news on outbreaks of communicable diseases.

Translations: Outbreak
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Dansk (Danish)
n. - udbrud, opstand

Nederlands (Dutch)
uitbarsting, opstand

Français (French)
n. - déclenchement, éruption, déclaration

Deutsch (German)
n. - Ausbruch

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - ξέσπασμα, (μτφ.) έκρηξη, έναρξη

Italiano (Italian)
esplosione, insurrezione, scoppio, epidemia, eruzione

Português (Portuguese)
n. - erupção (f), estouro (m), deflagração (de guerra)

Русский (Russian)
вспышка

Español (Spanish)
n. - erupción, explosión, brote, epidemia, ola, arrebato, arranque, estallido, insurrección, levantamiento

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - utbrott, resning, uppror

中文(简体)(Chinese (Simplified))
爆发, 暴动

中文(繁體)(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 爆發, 暴動

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 발발, 폭동

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 勃発, 急激な発生, 暴動

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) نشوب‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮התפרצות‬


 
 

 

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Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Thesaurus. Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary Copyright © 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Answers Corporation Antonyms. © 1999-2009 by Answers Corporation. All rights reserved.  Read more
US Military Dictionary. The Oxford Essential Dictionary of the U.S. Military. Copyright © 2001, 2002 by Oxford University Press, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Outbreak" Read more
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