Abstract:
This thesis serves as an analysis of the public health response to the 2018 Lane County pertussis outbreak. It considers the magnitude of the outbreak, (a record number of 183 confirmed cases as of October 7, 2018), and explores the links between the impact of the disease on the community and efforts by the Lane County Communicable Disease Department to control it. This thesis combines quantitative statistical analysis with qualitative content analysis to provide a timeline for the disease outbreak in addition to the generation and analysis of epidemiological curves. This thesis will examine the response protocol initiated by the Lane County Communicable Disease Department and discuss the both the strengths and potential limitations of the response. Additionally, the results of the analysis will discuss the preventative methods used by the Lane County Public Health Department, as well other methods employed globally. The significance of this particular research project lies in the cyclical nature of pertussis: outbreaks are recurring and seemingly inevitable. Thus, having a clear understanding of this outbreak and the public health response has the potential to help the Lane County community be more prepared for future pertussis epidemics.