Disease Detectives B/C

[UTF-8 U+6211 U+662F]

what is the difference between a cluster and an outbreak?

A cluster is any grouping of cases that are close in space and time. An outbreak is a sudden increase in cases in a given area above the expected number.

[jkotl0327]

Is the topic this year food borne illnesses, population growth, environmental, or a mix of these.

This year does not have a specific topic. Check out the rules for what you should be studying. The CDC online textbook on epidemiology really helps (and it's free!). There are no binders for this event.

Thank you. Also, if we aren’t allowed a binder, then what are we allowed? Also, will it be a mix of all three topics, or just two this year?
Again, thank you.

[Anomaly]

Is the topic this year food borne illnesses, population growth, environmental, or a mix of these.

This year does not have a specific topic. Check out the rules for what you should be studying. The CDC online textbook on epidemiology really helps (and it's free!). There are no binders for this event.

Thank you. Also, if we aren’t allowed a binder, then what are we allowed? Also, will it be a mix of all three topics, or just two this year?
Again, thank you.

You are allowed to bring one 8.5 x 11 inch sheet of paper with info front and back. It's not really a mix of the three topics, if you want to think about it its none of the three topics, since you dont really have to focus on any of the topics. Just focus on the stuff that is actually in the rules for this year.

[Rubix1353]

Is the specific topic for this year environmental quality or is there none?

[UTF-8 U+6211 U+662F]

Is the specific topic for this year environmental quality or is there none?

As stated above, there is no specific topic.

[Rubix1353]

Does this mean that they can potentially test us about any of the 3 topics (that usually rotate)?

[drcubbin]

Does this mean that they can potentially test us about any of the 3 topics (that usually rotate)?

That will be up to each Event Supervisor (whomever is writing the test for that particular competition), but you can probably be pretty sure it will be one that has been covered in the past, only it will not devote as much time to it as in previous years. (See Part II: Outbreak Investigation of the manual).

[UTF-8 U+6211 U+662F]

Does this mean that they can potentially test us about any of the 3 topics (that usually rotate)?

Generally, you will be tested on what's explicitly written in the rules. Note how the event has been restructured into three main topics.

[Flavorflav]

To give an event writer's perspective, I used to always use data about diseases form the year's topic for the major portion of the event. I would expect students to have some basic information about the most common or important agents in the category - life cycle, incubation period etc. Generally, I would expect more when the topic was foodborne because the list of likely agents is shorter. When it was environmental I would expect more knowledge of concepts like bioaccumulation, particulate size etc. Now that topics are out the window, I feel like I can't really expect students to come in with much in the way of specific info about any diseases except possibly whatever is currently in the news.

[Flavorflav]

Why is attack rate listed on part 2, then incidence proportion is listed on part 3, even though attack rate and incidence proportion mean the same thing?

They don't mean the same thing. Incidence figures are virtually always calculated for whole populations, and attack rates for exposed populations.

Attack rate can be calculated for the whole population or exposed populations; it's just a measure or risk.

It can be calculated for whole populations, but it isn't - unless the whole population is considered at risk. They will be equivalent when the population is defined down to the at-risk population, as in eaters of the potato salad, or when the agent is so widespread that the risk is defined up to include the whole population, as perhaps in the case of the flu. However, in most cases they will not be the same as each other. One might report the incidence of Hep A for a county using the whole population as the denominator, but the attack rate would likely be calculated only for diners at a particular restaurant, or even only those who ordered a particular dish.