Question

How do we address an "epidemic" by using the surveillance data?

Answer 1

Ans) An outbreak refers to a more localized situation in space and/or time, while epidemic often refers to a more widespread (and perhaps prolonged) situation.

There are two main ways that epidemiologists and public health officials collect surveillance data:

1) Passive surveillance/data collection:

Data are acquired from other primary sources and have been derived for other purposes.
E.g., Collecting data from samples sent into a lab for testing, reports by doctors to public health agencies (notifiable diseases), hospital discharge information, and/or absenteeism information from schools.

2) Active surveillance/ data collection:

Data is actively searched for and collected for the goal of surveillance. Essentially, targeted surveillance activities.
E.g., Sampling retail meats for enteric pathogens, testing hospital volunteers for tuberculosis, swabbing carcasses at slaughterhouses.