Northeast Nebraska Public Health Dept

Disease Investigation and Surveillance

Launch the media gallery 1 player - media #1

Per CDC:

Epidemiology is the "study of distribution and determinants of health-related states among specified population and the application of that study to the control of health problems." - A Dictionary of Epidemiology

The NNPHD Disease Investigation and Surveillance (DIS) Team are Northeast Nebraska's disease detectives. The DIS team investigates all diseases and conditions that are reportable in the State of Nebraska. Our investigation tools come from our State Division of Public Health, the Centers for Disease Control, our local medical partners, and most importantly, people who are experiencing the disease, who are referred to as "cases".

Meet Your Local Disease Detectives

• Molly Herman, MPH, CPH, CIC: Epidemiology Manager
• Debbie Ussery, BSN, RN: Public Health Nurse
• Kalynn Michael, MPH: Public Health Specialist
• Jackie Loecker, MSN, RN: Public Health Nurse

Talking to cases helps us understand how they might have gotten sick, which can help us determine if there is an outbreak, as well as how to prevent future illness. It also gives us a chance to answer any questions the case might have, and to connect them with any resources they might need.

Epidemiology helps our disease detectives find out

WHAT is happening?

WHO is it affecting?

WHERE is it happening?

WHEN is it happening?

WHY is it happening?

WHAT can we do to prevent it?

Our DIS team uses epidemiological tools to work with the information learned from case investigations so that we can monitor local trends. This helps us understand the big picture, know if there is anything that needs immediate action, as well as identify important important things the public needs to know.

Examples of DIS work can include responding to:

• Elevated blood lead levels
• Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs)
• Animal exposures (bat in bedroom, dog bite, raccoon bite)
• Syndromic surveillance of ILIs (Influenza Like Illnesses)
• School illness reporting
• Bird flu response

Some specific diseases that we investigate include:

NNPHD's DIS team has handled some big events over the years:

• 2019 Mumps outbreak (published)
• Managing a case of zoonotic tuberculosis (published)
• 2022 bird influenza response (twice!)
• COVID-19 pandemic: disease investigations and contact tracing
• 2021 Epidemiologic and environmental investigation which led to the confirmation of the first cases of Lyme disease acquired in Nebraska (published)

Molly obtained her Certification in Infection Control (CIC) in October 2024, which means she is qualified to assist our medical partners with healthcare-associated infections, antimicrobial stewardship, and other infection prevention and control issues.

Molly and the DIS team are ready and willing to take any questions people might have about infectious disease, vaccinations, ticks and mosquitoes, and so much more! We partner with many subject matter experts who are happy to share their knowledge so that are communities can as protected as possible from disease.