CDC CaseTrace

A Tool to Visualize Healthcare-Associated Infection (HAI) Investigations
For Public Health

Purpose

CDC CaseTrace is a tool intended to support healthcare-associated infection (HAI) outbreak investigations by aiding outbreak investigators and healthcare facilities in identifying potential HAI transmission events in healthcare facilities.

CDC CaseTrace Page Thumb Image - Healthcare workers reviewing data charts in a hospital

About

CDC's CaseTrace is a free, browser-based interactive tool designed to help outbreak investigators and healthcare facilities stop healthcare-associated infection (HAI) outbreaks faster and reduce delays that can lead to potential patient exposures. CDC CaseTrace maps patient movement within and across healthcare settings in a graphical timeline to help investigators identify where and when HAI exposures may have occurred.

CDC CaseTrace is designed for epidemiologists and infection control practitioners. Users can create unique, interactive timelines of outbreaks happening in their facility to:

  • Visualize patient stays over time
  • Calculate overlap days between patient pairs
  • Display clinical events and test results on one timeline
  • Highlight case-positive patients or another outcome of interest--such as procedures, treatments, or other outcomes
  • Dynamically sort and filter cases

Getting Started

To use CDC CaseTrace:

  1. De-identify your patient data. Do NOT upload data containing personally identifiable information (PII) or controlled unclassified information (CCI).
  2. Download the provided linelist template and add your de-identified data. For instructions on how to structure your data, refer to the CDC CaseTrace User Manual.
  3. Upload your de-identified linelist file to CDC CaseTrace.
  4. CDC CaseTrace will generate interactive visualizations.
  5. Share your findings via the browser-based tool or download summary and detail tables and graphs.

Note: All uploaded data is automatically deleted at the end of each session. Sessions automatically expire after 30 minutes.

Find more information in the CDC CaseTrace User Manual.

Questions?

Contact CDC-CaseTrace@cdc.gov

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Content Source
National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases (NCEZID)
About This Page
Published: August 5, 2026
Updated: September 9, 2026

This page was last updated on this date. Updates may include minor edits, image changes, or other modifications to page content.

Reviewed: September 9, 2026

The information on this page was last reviewed by subject matter experts to ensure accuracy.