Measles and rubella outbreak preparedness and response in SEARO

Overview: Measles is the most infectious virus known to mankind and rubella is the most common cause of preventable birth defect. This course aims to support countries in preparedness for outbreaks, timely response, and recovery from measles and rubella outbreaks. The course provides key concepts of outbreak response including case management, sample tools that can be used for outbreak investigation, epidemiological analysis, and documentation of the outbreak epidemiology, response, and recovery activities.

All healthcare workers, managers, and policymakers involved in communicable diseases with a focus on measles and rubella will benefit from the course.

The course provides guidance on:

Preparedness for measles and rubella outbreaks

Detection, verification, investigation, and response to measles and rubella outbreaks, including vaccination strategies

Sample tools for outbreak investigation and outbreak reporting

Root cause analysis to develop recovery plans for post-outbreak health.

What you’ll learn

Conduct outbreak preparedness assessment at your area of work for measles and rubella outbreaks

Describe the necessary skills in detection, verification, and investigation of patients during a measles rubella outbreak

Describe the various tools required for measles and rubella outbreak investigations

Explain the root cause analysis and how to develop plans for post outbreak health system strengthening

Course contents

Module 1: Identification of Measles and Rubella outbreaks:
By the end of this module, participants will describe key concepts related to the characteristics of measles and rubella outbreaks including the definition of an outbreak; classification of large outbreaks; detecting and confirming outbreaks including signal detection, event verification, and epidemiologic linkage; and outbreak response.

Module 2: Outbreak investigation, description, root cause analysis and reporting:
By the end of this module, participants will explain key concepts related to establishing investigation triggers for measles and/or rubella outbreaks; prepare for as well as investigate outbreaks; describe outbreaks including establishing the true magnitude and extent through descriptive, and analytical epidemiology of the outbreak; root cause analysis, and outbreak reporting.

Module 3: Measles and rubella outbreak preparedness and response:
By the end of this module, participants will explain the various components of the outbreak response. These include: coordination of the response, determining the risk of spread; surveillance, clinical case management, contact management, special considerations for infection control, immunization activities in response to an outbreak, definition of outbreaks, immunization response strategies, reinforcement or strengthening of routine immunization activities, risk communication, social mobilization, and community engagement, declaring an outbreak is over, evaluation of outbreak response, and recovery.

Module 4: Systems establishment for response to outbreaks:
By the end of this module, participants will describe key concepts related to outbreak preparedness to ensure systems are established to enable a rapid, effective response to measles-rubella outbreaks at both national and subnational levels. The module describes the measles-rubella preparedness checklist that has been developed which aims to support countries identify strengths and gaps in their level of capability to be ready to respond quickly and effectively to an outbreak both within the national system and the district and local areas at high risk.