In GIDEON®, an entry qualifies as an outbreak if:
- An event is specifically reported as an outbreak in source literature.
- It is a high-profile, notifiable disease in a non-endemic area e.g. Ebola in Italy
- ≥2 local cases appear unusual
- Citations of animal disease are denoted as outbreaks – even when only one animal is involved – in keeping with OIE definitions. Thus, a report of anthrax in a single goat is considered an outbreak in their reporting system.
- In general, any grouping of cases – including family clusters and epidemics – will be listed as an outbreak for the purpose of consistency. The term outbreak is generic here, and much will depend on the nature of the disease itself as there is no numerical cutoff.