Back Cover

This guide is intended to assist those responsible for dealing with emergencies caused by outbreaks of communicable disease. It is based on the experience of public health experts in various countries and describes a systematic approach to the organization of an emergency health service, instigation of field investigations, analysis of the results, and implementation and evaluation of control measures. Coverage of potential epidemic diseases has bean made as complete as possible in order to facilitate differential diagnosis. The annexes contain practical guidance on diagnosis, prevention of disease transmission and collection and shipment of specimens.