OutbreakID® is an "intelligent database." Basically, the idea of an intelligent database is to select all the relevant information in a particular knowledge domain and map it using intelligent indexes and categories. It is a very labor-intensive activity to prepare the information for subsequent use by another health professional. The goal is to take advantage of the computer's infinite capacity to store information, and to make it as easy as possible for the health professional to access that information. There are no hidden algorithms operating in an intelligent database. A query results in a list or an intersection of lists. For example, show me all the diseases that have cough as a finding or show me all of the diseases that have cough AND rash as findings. You could do the sorting by hand, but the computer does it instantaneously.

 

 

What is Zoom-Intersection?

Zoom-intersection is an important concept for users of OutbreakID. When two circles intersect as shown in the Venn diagram above, the area of intersection represents the results of a query for two criteria (an AND search). The idea is similar to finding a location on a map. If one street name is known, the search is narrowed to all addresses on that street. If both intersecting streets are known, the target is further narrowed down to just a few addresses.

OutbreakID was designed for zoom-intersection. Two or three criteria are all you need for a query that will reduce the results list down to manageable size. The following table shows some examples of important criteria to use in your searches. An effective query will combine one or more criteria in one column with one or more criteria in a second column. Add an ENDEMIC criteria if you want to limit the search to a specific region of the world. If you are considering terrorism as a possibility, use "Victim--release of any warfare agent" and add one of the SYNDROMES or FINDINGS.

FINDINGS	EPIDEMIOLOGY	JOBS	SYNDROMES	WARFARE
Abdominal pain	Inhale	Butchers	GI+	Victim--release of any warfare agent
Blood in stool	Ingest	Child Caretakers	GI-
Bradycardia	Needle	EMTs	Neuro+
Brain abscess	Animal bite	Farmers	Neuro-
Conjunctivitis	Food	Fire Fighters	Resp+
Encephalitis	Water	Fishers	Resp-
Dyspnea, acute	Patient	Family Doctors	Rash+
Eosinophilia	Fecal-oral	Foresters	Adenopathy+
Hemoglobinuria	Biting flies	Graders/Sorters	Arthralgias+
Jaundice	Fleas	Hunters	Bleeding+
KFTs, abnormal	Mites	Int. Travelers	Jaundice+
LFTs, abnormal	Mosquitoes	Immigrants	Petechiae+
Pleural effusion	Ticks	Janitors	Burn
Pneumonia	Birds	Landscapers	Ulceroglandular
Proteinuria	Cattle	Microbiologists	Cholinergic
Pus in stool	Dogs	RNs	Anticholinergic
Rash on palms	Fish	Soldiers in field
Seizure	Horses	Soldiers, billeted
Sepsis	Human	Tree Trimmers
Skin infection	Rodents	Veterinarians
Stiff neck	Wildlife	Zoologists