Why didn’t the Department of Health (DOH) surveillance systems pick up the cancer cluster, why did it take a private citizen to report the cluster?
• Several factors make it difficult for the DOH to “pick up” cancer clusters. Cancer occurrence fluctuates from year to year in small areas. The number of reported cases might be higher than expected in one year or in several years, but the rates would go back to “normal” in the following years. To determine if there is a cluster, epidemiologists need to compare the cancer rates, instead of numbers, in the area of concern to either overall county rates or state rates. However, except in Census years, there is no available source for good population data in small areas for calculating cancer rates. More importantly, the Department does not have data on how long people have lived in the area of concern in order to assess if the increased cancer rates are linked to local residential history. (NOTE: The Acreage DOH in-depth study interviews will provide that specific residence information).
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