Last updated 02/13/2017 This document is a reference manual for public health professionals who use the web-based National Outbreak Reporting System (NORS) to report waterborne disease outbreaks to CDC. NORS collects information on waterborne and foodborne disease outbreaks and enteric disease outbreaks transmitted by contact with environmental sources, infected persons or animals, or unknown modes of transmission. Waterborne disease outbreaks in NORS are reviewed for inclusion in the Waterborne Disease and Outbreak Surveillance System (WBDOSS). The WBDOSS, a collaboration between the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists (CSTE), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), tracks, analyzes and describes waterborne disease outbreaks at a national level. The guidance in this document has been organized to correspond to the sections in NORS. Sections in NORS for waterborne disease reporting include the General Section, Water section, Etiology & Lab section, the Attachments section, and one section for the type of water exposure (e.g., Drinking, Rec. Treated). In each section, there can be one or multiple tabs (e.g., Type of Water Exposure, Epidemiologic Data). cdc_5212_guidance.pdf

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