This course provides an overview of the important concepts fundamental to the understanding, design, and conduct of infectious disease outbreak investigations. Each course meeting will cover three aspects of outbreaks: 1. The epidemiology and pathophysiology of selected infectious diseases. 2. Methodological issues related to investigating such an outbreak. 3. Practical aspects of outbreak investigations (including legal aspects, environmental analyses, and communicating risk to the public). The course will address common causes of outbreaks in this country (such as foodborne, respiratory, and vaccine‐preventable diseases, as well as outbreaks in hospitals). Issues pertinent to outbreak investigations in the developing world are also discussed. The course format consists of a series of lectures by faculty and guests, discussion sessions, hands‐on experience with outbreak investigation data, and directed readings from the current literature.

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