Certification Board of Infection Control and Epidemiology (CBIC) Practice Exam 2025 – The All-in-One Guide for Exam Success

The primary goal of conducting an outbreak investigation is to identify and control sources of infection. This involves systematically gathering and analyzing information to pinpoint the cause of an outbreak, understand how the infection is spreading, and implement effective measures to control and prevent further transmission. By identifying the sources of infection, public health officials and healthcare providers can take swift action to mitigate the outbreak's impact, protect public health, and reduce the risk of future occurrences.

While developing new vaccines, tracking patient recovery times, and evaluating healthcare facility performance are important in the overall context of public health and epidemiology, they are not the main objectives during an outbreak investigation itself. These activities may follow once the immediate concern of controlling the outbreak has been addressed, but the central focus during an outbreak investigation is clearly on identifying the source and implementing control measures.