1. The epi curve of the this investigation, shown here, has the number of cases on the vertical axis and date of report on the horizontal axis. The date of report is the date when the case-patient was first seen by a health facility or identified by the field team and begins on January 1st 2004 and goes to July 20th 2004.
This epi curve shows us that cases of jaundice are seen year round which may imply that aflatoxin poisoning is endemic. A sharp rise in cases beginning in mid –April and lasting through mid June is seen.
The horizontal line above the curve represents the time frame of the descriptive study. It is always a concern that an increase in cases may actually only represent a change in case surveillance. However as shown in this epi curve, cases began to increase before the descriptive study started and began to decline before the descriptive study concluded.
Source: September 3, 2004 / Vol. 53 / No. 34 / Pg issue of MMWR