Table 1.

The Pilot EAR Project Risk Assessment Matrix (active between July and September 2010)

Question	Score	Comments
Public Health Impact
What is the impact of the event reported (in terms of cases and severity)?	1-3	1–Low impact 2–Medium impact 3–High impact
Suspicion of Deliberate Act
Is the disease endemic in the country in which it has occurred?	1-3	1–Endemic 2–Sporadic or disease not known 3–Not known to occur/new
Does the clinical presentation (including outcome and response to treatment) suggest an unnatural event?	1-3	1–Clinical presentation as expected/no information 2–Clinical presentation not typical but plausible 3–Clinical presentation very unusual
Does the epidemiology (including geo-distribution and origin of event) of the case/outbreak suggest an unnatural event?	1-3	1–Epidemiology as expected 2–Epidemiology unusual but within accepted norms 3–Epidemiology very unusual
Does the etiology or suggested etiology of the infection suggest an unnatural event?	1-3	1–Etiology entirely consistent with natural infection 2–Etiology unusual but possible or etiology not mentioned/known 3–Etiology very unusual
Source of Information
Is the report from a trusted source?	1-3	1–Report from a potentially unreliable source 2–Report from a potentially reliable source (eg, NGO, news sources of good reputation, or reporting national health authorities) 3–Report from trusted source (eg, WHO, national health authorities)