In this case study, Wandad Dikiy analyzes the Rajneeshpuram salad bar Salmonella outbreak of 1984. Although investigations eventually clarified that the event was indeed a bioterrorist attack, it was initially handled as a food-borne outbreak. This mis-identification of the outbreak’s cause and a lack of inter-departmental cooperation significantly delayed effective public health response to the disaster.
Dikiy comments on the inadequacies in the public health response to this disaster and considers modifications that could have improved response efforts in retrospect. To conclude, Dikiy extends her discussion to offer her perspective on the role of public health professionals during disease outbreaks.