How will the Disease Detectives event work in the Science Olympiad?
Students will be given background on a real disease outbreak or other public health problem and will use the problem-solving methods of epidemiology to work through the problem, examine the cause, and recommend solutions, just as disease detectives do. The exercises used in the Science Olympiad event will be based on information contained in reports published about outbreaks and other problems in publications such as medical journals, public health epidemiology bulletins, and newspaper and magazine accounts. Where can I find more information about diseases and disease outbreaks? Suggested supplemental reading includes The Medical Detectives, by Berton Roueche and The Cobra Event, by Richard Preston. Both of these books are written for the general audience and are entertaining as well as informative. See More Resources for a list of web sites, books, and journal article.
