The National Outbreak Reporting System (NORS) is a web-based application managed by the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is the National public health institutes, national public health agency of the United States. It is a Federal agencies of the United States, United States federal agency under the United S ...
(
CDC
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is the national public health agency of the United States. It is a United States federal agency under the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and is headquartered in Atlanta, ...
) used primarily for reporting outbreaks of
enteric diseases.
History
NORS was launched in 2009 for use by staff working within
public health
Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the de ...
departments in individual states, territories, and the Freely Associated States (composed of the
Republic of the Marshall Islands
The Marshall Islands, officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands, is an island country west of the International Date Line and north of the equator in the Micronesia region of the Northwestern Pacific Ocean.
The territory consists of 29 ...
, the
Federated States of Micronesia
The Federated States of Micronesia (, abbreviated FSM), or simply Micronesia, is an island country in Micronesia, a region of Oceania. The federation encompasses the majority of the Caroline Islands (excluding Palau) and consists of four Admin ...
and the
Republic of Palau
Palau, officially the Republic of Palau, is an island country in the Micronesia subregion of Oceania in the western Pacific Ocean. The Republic of Palau consists of approximately 340 islands and is the western part of the Caroline Islands, w ...
; formerly parts of the U.S.-administered Trust Territories of the Pacific Islands).
Health departments are responsible for determining which staff members have access to NORS.
NORS replaced the electronic Foodborne Outbreak Reporting System (eFORS), which was the primary tool for reporting foodborne disease outbreaks to the U.S.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) since 2001. NORS also replaced the paper-based reporting system used during 1971–2008 to report waterborne disease outbreaks to the
Waterborne Disease and Outbreak Reporting System (WBDOSS). The transition to electronic waterborne disease outbreak reporting is, in large part, a response to th
Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists (CSTE)position statement titled
Improving Detection, Investigation, and Reporting of Waterborne Disease Outbreaks"
Separate sections in NORS for enteric person-to-person and animal-to-person
disease outbreak
In epidemiology, an outbreak is a sudden increase in occurrences of a disease when cases are in excess of normal expectancy for the location or season. It may affect a small and localized group or impact upon thousands of people across an entire ...
reports are intended to enhance the information available to quantify, describe, and understand these types of outbreaks at a national level.
Functionality
Only authorized users of state, local, and territorial public health agencies or other organizations are granted access to use NORS. When an outbreak occurs, these agencies begin an investigation by collecting and testing specimens. The
health departments then report their findings through NORS, where the data is aggregated and analyzed by the CDC.
Detailed information on how to use NORS is available on the CDC website. These training materials explain the process for creating reports, uploading
laboratory
A laboratory (; ; colloquially lab) is a facility that provides controlled conditions in which scientific or technological research, experiments, and measurement may be performed. Laboratories are found in a variety of settings such as schools ...
and outbreak data, and addressing entry issues.
See also
*
Waterborne Disease and Outbreak Reporting System (WBDOSS)
References
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External links
Council of State and Territorial EpidemiologistsNational Outbreak Reporting System (NORS)- Provides information on NORS, including forms and video training on using the NORS system.
OutbreakNet Teamat the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Epidemiology
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention