First step in epidemic done by an epidemiologist?
Ans. is 'b' i.e., Confirmation of diagnosis Steps for Investigation of Epidemic : Verification of diagnosis : Is the first step in investigation of an epidemic' Confirmation of existence of an epidemic: Compare with disease frequencies during same period in previous years Epidemic threshold: An arbitrary limit of '2 standard errors from the endemic occurrence' Defining the population at risk: Obtaining the map of the area Calculation of 'appropriate denominator of population at risk' Rapid search for all cases and their characteristics: Medical survey Epidemiological case sheet Searching for more cases: Search for new cases is carried out everyday, till the area is declared free of epidemic; this period is usually taken as 'twice the incubation period of the disease since the occurrence of last case' Data analysis: Formulation of hypothesis Testing of hypothesis Evaluation of ecological factors Fuher investigation of population at risk Writing the repo
Identity the cases
Confirm the diagnosis
Identify the prone people
Identify the causative factors