Rare Infectious Disease Surveillance
2017
This case study follows a public health nurse’s decision-making process as she responds to a suspected outbreak of a rare neurodegenerative disease in the Canadian city of Toronto. Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD), which is the human form of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (or “Mad Cow Disease”), is rare but potentially fatal; the nurse must draw on epidemiological reports to identify incidence and support public health decisions and public messaging. This case would be suitable for public and community health and nursing courses on infectious disease surveillance, health messaging, and public policy.
The case includes guidance for instructors, including learning objectives and discussion questions. It is part of a 12-case collection written by students in the MPH class of the Schulich Interfaculty Program in Public Health at Western University, Canada. The cases may be copied and used free of charge without permission for any educational uses by an accredited educational institution.
Rare Infectious Disease Surveillance
Source:
Fan E et al. Investigating Suspected Outbreaks of Rare Infectious Disease Using Surveillance Data: The CJDSS Perspective. Western Public Health Casebook. Public Health Casebook Publishing 2017. https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/westernpublichealthcases/vol2017/iss1/11.