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Outbreak Preparedness and Response

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Outbreak preparedness

These resources are meant to assist prior to a cluster or outbreak. These resources will help you be better prepared to respond quickly and effectively to future outbreaks.

  • Opportunities to get involved through community newsletters and groups
  • Training resources for health care providers
  • Training resources for health agencies
  • Cluster/outbreak communication (Dear Colleague letters, HANs, etc.)

 

Outbreak investigation

Before an outbreak is confirmed, we need to fortify and understand our data.

  • The data request form
  • An explanation of outbreak detection methods used for outbreak response within the Office of STI/HIV/VH
  • Information about how to test for STIs, HIV, and VH
  • Information about how to report positive tests
  • Contacts within the OSHV for questions about disease reporting

 

Outbreak response

Responding to an outbreak requires quick and efficient prevention and control. All individuals both in the community and along the healthcare continuum can find resources in this section to assist with disease control and mitigation. 

  • Harm reduction materials like how to order fentanyl test strips and Naloxone for your community
  • Safer sex resources
  • Rapid STI, HIV, and VH tests
  • Information on how to report positive tests to the state health department
  • Marketing materials to help disseminate information about the outbreak disease and how folks can get tested

 

Evaluation

The only way to know whether an outbreak response has been successful is to evaluate. In this section, you will find areas of evaluation that should be considered after every cluster or outbreak response.