Outbreak is a classification used in epidemiology to describe a small, localized group of people or organisms infected with a disease. Such groups are often confined to a village or a small area. Outbreaks may also refer to epidemics, which affect a region in a country or a group of countries, or pandemics, which describe global disease outbreaks. ==Outbreak Investigation==When investigating disease outbreaks, the epidemiology profession has developed a number of widely accepted steps. As described by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, these include the followinghttp://www.cdc.gov/excite/classroom/outbreak/steps.htm: · Verify the diagnosis related to the outbreak · Identify the existence of the outbreak: is the group of ill persons normal for the time of year, geographic area, etc.? · Create a case definition to define who/what is included as a case · Complete descriptive epidemiology: describe outbreak

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