[citation needed] NORS replaced the electronic Foodborne Outbreak Reporting System (eFORS), which was the primary tool for reporting foodborne disease outbreaks to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) since 2001.
[3][4] The transition to electronic waterborne disease outbreak reporting is, in large part, a response to the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists (CSTE) position statement titled "Improving Detection, Investigation, and Reporting of Waterborne Disease Outbreaks."
[citation needed] Only authorized users of state, local, and territorial public health agencies or other organizations are granted access to use NORS.
The health departments then report their findings through NORS, where the data is aggregated and analyzed by the CDC.
These training materials explain the process for creating reports, uploading laboratory and outbreak data, and addressing entry issues.