Biosurveillance

Investigating and Identifying Health Threats

Capability 12: Public Health Laboratory Testing

  • The Tennessee Department of Health State Public Health Lab conducts laboratory testing and report results, enhances laboratory communications and coordination, and            supports training and outreach.

Capability 13: Public Health Surveillance and Epidemiological Investigation

  • Public health surveillance and epidemiological investigation is the ability to create, maintain, support, and strengthen routine surveillance and detection systems and       epidemiological investigation processes. It also includes the ability to expand these systems and processes in response to incidents of public health significance.
  • One tool in the public health surveillance toolbox is syndromic surveillance. Check out TDH's 2021 Syndromic Surveillance summary to learn more about this system and how we        put it to use in Tennessee.
  • Public Health in Action: Impact Statement: Knox County Health Department Investigates Shiga Toxin-Producing E. Coli (STEC) Outbreak
  • Training
    • Epi Info Training: Epi Info™ is a public domain suite of interoperable software tools designed for public health practitioners and researchers, developed and provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). This online training is intended for users to develop a broad understanding of the features and functions of the software, and to have hands on experience with its use. The training is a self-paced series of seven modules, developed through a partnership between the Tennessee Department of Health and East Tennessee State University.
    • Infectious Disease Training for Law Enforcement: Using Ebola Virus Disease as an example, this training helps law enforcement personnel gain an understanding of highly
      infectious diseases.
    • GIS Training Resource: Geocoding Cookbook: A Guide to Creating a Point So You Can Make a Point: This geocoding cookbook is meant to serve as a guide for everyday use and provides additional listed resources. The purpose of geocoding is to assign geographical coordinates to address data in order to display those data as points on a map. Geocoding is the process of geo-referencing a street address to a location on an electronic map.