A new disease

The news has just arrived at the municipal health department of a city of 40,000 inhabitants. Ten cases of a respiratory disease (atypical pneumonia) and 2 deaths occurred in a week, in a construction site on the outskirts of the town. More than 100 workers from different parts of the country are taking part in the construction of an asphalt plant. They live in an accommodation in the center of the city. Some of them came with their families.

The city has 4 health centers, an emergency room, and a low-complexity hospitalization unit with 20 beds.

After 1 week, 30 more cases and 2 deaths were registered. Many cases progressed to respiratory failure, increasing occupation in the emergency room and in the inpatient unit.

Questions to consider

• What are the first steps to investigate the problem?
• How to organize the mitigation of this health crisis?
• What are the indicators of interest to monitor and organize a strategy to control the situation?
• What are the research priorities that should be proposed to answer immediate strategic questions for understanding the dynamics of the disease?

What is expected of the group on Day 1

Organization of the group to broaden the understanding of the situation and start the discussion about the first steps to guarantee actions with an impact in the future.