Overview of Investigating an Outbreak
Summary: Students will receive an overview of roles and responsibilities within the field of
public health, specifically epidemiology, by utilizing the “Outbreak at Watersedge” interactive
online game. Using this game, student will also gain basic knowledge regarding the process for
conducting a disease outbreak investigation. Homework and discussion questions are also
provided. This lesson plan can be used in biology.
Learning Outcomes:
 Introduce the students to roles and responsibilities within the field of public health,
particularly epidemiology.
 Expose the students to basic epidemiological concepts and methods related to the steps of
an outbreak investigation.
 Help students to understand reasons why health officials conduct disease outbreak
investigations.
Materials:
 Computer access with the Internet.
 The “Outbreak at Watersedge” interactive game.
 Computer with projector for PowerPoint presentations.
Total Duration: ~ 60 minutes
Procedure
Teacher Preparation
Reserve time in the computer lab for the students to either work individually or in teams
(depending on computer availability) using the “Outbreak at Watersedge” interactive game.
Prepare PowerPoint slides (or use the PowerPoint presentations provided) to further explain the
role of epidemiology in public health and the processes involved in an outbreak investigation.
Title: Outbreak at Watersedge – A Public Health Discovery Game.
URL: http://www.mclph.umn.edu/watersedge/
Description: This interactive game is useful for students as an introduction to the many
roles and responsibilities within the field of public health, as they work step-by-step to
solve an outbreak.
Title: CDC Excite – Steps of an Outbreak Investigation
URL: http://www.cdc.gov/excite/classroom/outbreak/steps.htm
Description: This CDC website outlines the 10 steps involved in an outbreak
investigation.
Introduction: Using the “Outbreak at Watersedge” as an introduction to public health roles and
responsibilities within the field, provide the class with a more in-depth look at epidemiology and
“disease detective” activities by outlining the steps of an outbreak investigation. Explain the
purpose of conducting an outbreak investigation, as well as the types of information that can be
gathered.
Step 1: Give a PowerPoint presentation (“Understanding Epidemiology: Introduction to
Epidemiology and Epidemiological Concepts”) to introduce the basic concepts of epidemiology
and the role epidemiologists play in public health to the classroom (10:00).
Step 2: Have students (individually or in a group) work through the “Outbreak at Watersedge”
interactive online activity. As students work through the activity, ask them to pay attention to
the role each character portrays in the activity and record those roles and responsibilities on a
piece of paper (25:00).
Step 3: Following the interactive activity, give a PowerPoint presentation (“Understanding
Epidemiology: The Steps to Conduct an Outbreak Investigation”) outlining in more detail the
steps of an outbreak investigation using the information provided by the CDC Excite website
(20:00).
Step 4: Briefly review key concepts regarding outbreak investigations on the following topics
with the class (5:00):
 Why do epidemiologists conduct outbreak investigations?
 Name some of the challenges epidemiologists face during an outbreak investigation?
 How do epidemiologists learn about suspected disease outbreaks?
 What resources are utilized to determine the existence of an outbreak?
 Summarize the 10 steps to investigating a disease outbreak based on the presented
material.
Modifications
Homework assignment: Have students research an article about a real-life disease outbreak –
using CDC, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), or PubMed – that occurred
within the last 10 years. Ask them to highlight key features of the outbreak, including but not
limited to:
 Who got sick? What were their characteristics/demographics?
 What were the symptoms?
 What caused the outbreak? For example, was a specific infectious agent implicated in
the outbreak?
 Were epidemiologists involved in the investigation? If so, what was their role?
 How was the investigation conducted?
Have the students bring their articles and a short write up to class to compare with other students
for the following class.