Health investigation following an outbreak of highly pathogenic Avian Influenza A (H5N1) in Poultry in Nabi Chit, Lebanon, 2016: a teaching case-study

Health investigation following an outbreak of highly pathogenic Avian Influenza A (H5N1) in Poultry in Nabi Chit, Lebanon, 2016: a teaching case-study

Zeina E. Farah^1,&, Nada Ghosn¹, Walid Ammar¹, Yousef Khader²

 

¹Epidemiological Surveillance Program, Ministry of Public Health, Lebanon, ²Jordan University of Science and Technology, Jordan

 

 

^&Corresponding author
Zeina E. Farah, Epidemiological Surveillance Program, Ministry of Public Health, Lebanon

 

 

 

 

General instructions: this case study should be used as adjunct training material for novice epidemiology trainees to reinforce the concepts taught in prior lectures. The case study is ideally taught by a facilitator in groups of about 8 participants. Participants are to take turns reading the case study, usually a paragraph per student. The facilitator guides the discussion on possible responses to questions. The facilitator may make use of flip charts to illustrate certain points. Additional instructor’s notes for facilitation are coupled with each question in the instructor’s guide to aid facilitation.

 

Audience: this case study was developed for novice field epidemiology students. These participants are commonly health care workers working in the county departments of health whose background may be as medical doctors, nurses, environmental health officers or laboratory scientists who work in public health-related fields. Most have a health science or biology background.

 

Prerequisites: before using this case study, participants should have received lectures on disease surveillance and outbreak investigation.

 

Materials needed: Flash drive, flip charts and markers.

 

Level of training and associated public health activity: Novice – Outbreak investigation

 

Time required: 3-4 hours

 

Language: English

 

 

• Download the case study student guide
• Request the case study facilitator guide

 

 

The authors declare no competing interests.

 

 

Authors would like to thank the Eastern Mediterranean Public Health Network (EMPHNET) for their technical support. We also acknowledge officers at the epidemiological surveillance program and communicable diseases department at the Ministry of Public Health who conducted the outbreak investigation on which this case study is based. We also wish to thank the Ministry of Agriculture, the National Influenza Center and the World Health Organization for their collaboration.

 

 

Annex 1: case study H5N1-Lebanon- table 2

 

 

1. World Health Organization. Frequently Asked Questions: H5N1 Influenza. 2012. Accessed on 20 December 2018.


2. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Highly pathogenic Asian avian influenza A (H5N1) virus. 2015. Accessed on 20 December 2018.


3. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Highly pathogenic avian influenza (H5N1 HPAI) spread in the Middle East: risk assessment. Rome. EMPRES Watch. September 2016; 36.


4. Asmar, Fadi. Lebanon; country pasture forage resource profile, 2011. Accessed on 20 December 2018.


5. World Health Organization. Early detection, assessment and response to acute public health events: implementation of early warning and response with a focus on event-based surveillance. 2014 WHO/HSE/GCR/LYO/2014.4. Google Scholar


6. Farah ZE, Khatib O, Hamadeh S et al. Containment of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza A(H5N1) Virus, Lebanon, 201 Emerg Infect Dis. 2018 Feb;24(2):374-376. PubMed | Google Scholar