0 the first known case in a group of people of a disease or medical condition that can be passed on to others, either through infection or in the genes:
Most of the other workers are recovering and some have returned to their jobs, but others, including the index case, are still unable to work.
We assumed that these patients were more likely to have been contaminated through direct contact with an index case than by a local environmental source.
Scientists identified at least 10 separate chains of transmission, each originating from one index case.
It was suspected that there might be a link between the outbreak and a probable index case, a food handler who had contracted hepatitis A.
We would advise testing family members - children, parents, brothers and sisters - because the disease runs in families, and he may well be the index case in a family that has a lot of celiac disease.
ECGs should be obtained in all family members when the index case presents with symptoms.
