The Outbreak Atlas

The public has taken a new level of interest in outbreak response since 2020, learning epidemiologic terms and developing diverse levels of expertise and facility. Public health professionals are now calling on citizen scientists to engage as outbreaks are increasingly occurring in complex environments, expanding the number of stakeholders and types of activities required to control the spread of disease. However, there is no comprehensive source mapping this complexity and detailing the necessary actions tailored for public consumption.

For years the Georgetown University Center for Global Health Science and Security has been curating an interactive online tool for professionals that identifies the activities and actors involved across all phases of an outbreak. The Georgetown Outbreak Activity Library (GOAL) captures what needs to get done, when, and by whom. Rebecca Katz and Mackenzie Moore have taken the opportunity to translate this complex material into a book designed for a public audience.

The Outbreak Atlas provides an overview of outbreak activities alongside compelling case studies and visualizations to guide readers through the complexity involved in outbreak preparedness, response, and recovery. It lifts the curtain on the rationale and interconnectedness of actions across different fields and at various levels to respond to disease outbreaks by presenting outbreak actions in an accessible way that ensures a shared understanding of the essential activities to control an outbreak.