What typically happens in a propagated outbreak?

In a propagated outbreak, the transmission of a disease occurs over time and often involves person-to-person contact, leading to successive peaks of new cases. This type of outbreak is characterized by the sustained spread of the disease, where each infected individual can transmit the pathogen to other people, causing a chain reaction of infections. This results in a temporal pattern of peaks, where each peak corresponds to an increase in new cases as the disease spreads through the population.

In contrast to immediate control measures or single exposure events, a propagated outbreak will continue to see new cases arising over an extended period as long as susceptible individuals are present within the population. This dynamic is crucial for understanding how infectious diseases can persist and evolve over time, necessitating continuous public health interventions to manage the spread effectively.