ABSTRACT
The purpose of this chapter is to discuss the kind of work I am sometimes involved in and, along the way, to describe some of the different kinds of uncertainty encountered. Thinking about how uncertainty is coped with in these situations is a new approach (for me at least); this chapter is very much about the description of actual situations, with some recognition of how various uncertainties are managed. The chapter is very practical and attempts to describe the feelings that exist under conditions of uncertainty and outbreak investigation rather than providing theoretical explanations.
