On the occasion of a local epidemic of infectious enteritis in a Community centre, the Public Health Office had an opportunity to develop a procedure to deal with such outbreaks. Models for the tasks of Public Health Offices are suggested. These consist of investigation, control measures, documentation of the epidemic and assessment of the chosen procedures. Typical problems include pressure of time due to the large number of cases, the dilemma between the need to inform the population vs. professional secrecy, and the dual role of the Public Health Office in providing assistance in both medical consultation and epidemic control measures.