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Speaking Points
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•Surveillance is important because it provides an accurate baseline
assessment of the status of health in a given population
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•The primary purpose of surveillance is to collect, analyze and
disseminate data for use in public health action to reduce morbidity and
mortality and to improve health
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•Surveillance can be used to measure trends in the burden of disease -
it allows for the detection of an outbreak – the occurrence of more cases of
disease than expected in a given area or among a specific group of people or
over a particular period of time
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•For practical purposes, the term “outbreak” is often used synonymously
with “epidemic” or “cluster”. However, some epidemiologists consider the term
“outbreak” to refer to a more localized situation, and “epidemic” to refer to
a more widespread and perhaps prolonged situation. The term “cluster” may be
defined as the occurrence of a group of cases in a circumscribed place and
time, in amounts that are suspected to be greater than expected. The cluster
is usually based on anecdotal evidence, and often the first task of
epidemiologists is to determine whether a cluster is indeed an outbreak.
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