This case study is designed as a stand-alone and does not come with a facilitator’s guide. The answers to all the questions for each section are provided as an introduction to the following section. To run this case study, it should be distributed one section at a time (i.e., one sheet at the time if the case study is printed out double-sided). 

Learning Objectives:

• Define the objectives of the investigation of an outbreak of poliomyelitis
• Define the role of laboratory methods in supporting polio outbreak investigations
• Formulate an operational case definition during an outbreak
• Raise hypotheses about the determinants of an outbreak of vaccine preventable disease on the basis of:
  • Descriptive epidemiological data
  • An age-cohort analysis of the level of population immunity
• Investigate case fatality ratio during an outbreak
• Plan control measures for an outbreak of vaccine-preventable disease