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Drinking Water-associated Outbreak Response Toolkit

The following information is intended to help state and local health departments respond to outbreaks associated with diseases related to drinking water. While some downloadable documents below are cryptosporidiosis-specific, they can also be used as models when creating similar documents for other pathogens. All documents can be downloaded and altered as needed.

  • Establish key contacts with partners at other local or state health departments and community partners such as laboratories, media, and child care centers.
  • Check resources and contingency plans. If your health department is low on resources, think ahead to what types of equipment or other resources may be needed in the outbreak response. Other state health department or local health departments may be able to share resources.
  • Share information with other health departments and community partners. This can speed up the investigation process and help fill knowledge gaps.
  • At the beginning of an outbreak it’s important to identify as many confirmed cases as possible to help find the source of the outbreak. This can be done through mass mailings, press conferences, the Internet, and other types of public outreach.
  • If possible, establish a hotline for outbreak-related calls.
  • Go to Chapter 5 "Outbreak Management" in the Cryptosporidium and Water: A Public Health Handbook[PDF - 152 pages] for more detailed outbreak management tips; it is specific to Cryptosporidium outbreaks but parts can be applied to outbreaks caused by other pathogens. This is an old historical document but much of the chapter is still applicable to new investigations.
  • To reduce the likelihood of community-wide spread of cryptosporidiosis, consult the Cryptosporidium Outbreak and Response and Evaluation (CORE) Guidelines.[PDF - 12 pages]

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