AAP News Vol. 15 No. 7 July 1999, p. 18
© 1999 American Academy of Pediatrics
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Preparation, communication key to handling disease outbreaks

Tom Nugent

What happens when a major disease outbreak invades a pediatric practice?

Seattle area pediatrician Donald L. Shifrin, M.D., FAAP, found out the hard way. "We were hit with a major pertussis outbreak last February," he recalled.

When Washington's King County jumped from 40 cases of pertussis in February-March 1998 to nearly 300 cases during the same period this year, staff and the 19 physicians in his group practice were taxed to their limits. "We were soon inundated by sick patients and hundreds of worried parents."