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Public Health & Epidemiology vocabulary · Outbreaks and Transmission

Outbreak

Meaning in public health & epidemiology, with examples

/ˈaʊtbreɪk/nounCore term

In public health & epidemiology, outbreak means: A sudden rise in the number of cases of a disease above what is normally expected, usually limited to one place, group or event.

In Turkish: salgın, lokal salgın

How it is used

The everyday word in outbreak work. An outbreak occurs or breaks out; teams detect, investigate, contain and finally declare an outbreak over. Officials often prefer 'outbreak' to 'epidemic' because it sounds smaller and less alarming.

Example sentences

  1. A norovirus outbreak on the cruise ship affected over 200 passengers.

  2. The team was sent to investigate a measles outbreak in a primary school.

Common collocations

  • outbreak investigation
  • contain an outbreak
  • foodborne outbreak
  • declare an outbreak over
  • outbreak response
  • epidemicA rise in cases of a disease well above the expected level in a population or region, usually spreading more widely than an outbreak.
  • clusterA group of cases that occur closer together in time or place than would be expected, which may or may not turn out to share a common cause.
  • index caseThe first case of a disease that comes to the attention of health authorities in an outbreak or a family, leading investigators to look for others.
  • case definitionA standard set of criteria, such as symptoms, lab results, time and place, used to decide whether a person should be counted as a case of a particular disease.
  • contact tracingFinding and contacting people who have been near an infected person, so they can be informed, tested, watched for symptoms or asked to stay at home.

More terms: Outbreaks and Transmission

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This page explains English vocabulary for learners. It is not medical advice.