THE FIRST TWO QUESTIONS ARE:
1. Is this the beginning of an outbreak?
2. Is the patient suffering from cholera or shigella?
1. Is this the beginning of an outbreak?
You might be facing an outbreak very soon if you have seen an unusual number of acute diarrhoeal cases this week and the patients have the following points in common:
• they have similar clinical symptoms (watery or bloody diarrhoea)
• they are living in the same area or location
• they have eaten the same food (at a burial ceremony for example)
• they are sharing the same water source
• there is an outbreak in the neighbouring community
or
You have seen an adult suffering from acute watery diarrhoea with severe dehydration and vomiting. If you have some statistical information from previous years or weeks verify if the actual increase of cases is unusual over the same period of time.
Download the full manual: First steps for managing an outbreak of acute diarrhoea
