DOI: 10.36347/sjams.2017.v05i03.007

Pages: 717-722

Outbreak surveillance provides valuable insights into the foods, germs, and settings linked to food borne diseases. The Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP) in India reported 1964 outbreaks in 2013, 1562 in 2014 and 1935 in 2015. In confirming the existence of the outbreak, identifying the source of the infection and the mode of the transmission and Initiating control and preventive measures. The investigations were initiated in the context of a public health response to a suspected outbreak highlighted by the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme. A suspect case of sickness was defined as the one, being resident of the hostel (male or female), from 23rd June to 2nd July, suffering from either one of the or combination of the symptoms of passage of loose watery stools of a frequency of 3 or more than 3 in 24 hours, at least one episode of vomiting, abdominal cramps or pain and fever as feeling of a warm body any time throughout the sickness. The overall attack rate of illness as 42.6%. . Only one food item was found to be significantly associated with illness i.e. Cabbage (p=0.000). Rice and water were also found to be associated with illness but was statistically not significant with p=0.986 and p=0.753 respectively. The present study observed an overall attack rate of 42.6%. Similar outbreak investigations by Surinder N Gupta in Dharamshala of the state showed the overall attack rate of 14% and 12.6% by Gupta et al in an outbreak of gastroenteritis in medical students in Madhya Pradesh in 2005.