A Novel Zoonotic Disease Outbreak Course to improve Surveillance and Response for the USDA

Objective The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) created a new course in 2013 to meet needs of the veterinary epidemiologists within the Veterinary Services (VS) division. The objective of this training was to provide a standard framework to investigate animal disease outbreaks, and apply practical solutions. VS has expertise in animal surveillance, this training course demonstrated how to incorporate the fundamentals of surveillance into an outbreak scenario. The goal of course was to give epidemiologist skills and practice to more quickly and efficiently conduct an investigation, allow rapid identification of a cause, apply control measures, and limit economic and health impacts of a disease.