Wahnich Amanda

Drug overdoses and related deaths have been escalating nationally since 1970. In Virginia, the rate of drug overdose deaths increased 36% from 5.0 to 6.8 deaths per 100,000 population between 1999 and 2010. While initiated for bioterrorism event detection, syndromic surveillance has shown utility when extended to other health issues. ED visits may complement information from Overdose Deaths investigated by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME) in describing drug overdose trends. Due to its real-time nature, syndromic surveillance data could act as an early indicator for emerging drug problems in the community, serving as an alert to public health.

Objective

Determine if syndromic surveillance data can be used to provide a real-time picture of the drug using population by analyzing trends of emergency department (ED) visits for unintentional drug overdose (Overdose Visits) in conjunction with unintentional deaths that prescription or illicit opiates contributed to or caused (Overdose Deaths).

BioSense 2.0 has become a platform for technical receipt and analysis of syndromic surveillance data for many jurisdictions nationwide, as well as a collaborative effort that has engaged a larger community of syndromic surveillance practitioners, Governance Group, and federal agencies and organizations. The potential longterm benefits of BioSense 2.0 for resource and data sharing have at times been overshadowed by the short-term limitations of the system and disconnected efforts among the CoP. In May 2014, representatives from 41 jurisdictions attended a 2-day, in-person meeting where four workgroups were formed to address on-boarding, data quality, data sharing and syndrome definition in an effort to advance changes that resonate with actual surveillance practice.

Objective

This roundtable will provide a forum for the syndromic surveillance Community of Practice (CoP) to learn about activities of the BioSense 2.0 User Group (BUG) workgroups that address priority issues in syndromic surveillance. It will be an opportunity to discuss key challenges faced by public health jurisdictions in the era of Meaningful Use and identify further needs and best practices in the areas of data quality, data sharing, onboarding, and developing syndrome definitions.

 

SCRAs are accessible and affordable, sold online, in gas stations, and in “head” shops for $5-30 per package.[1] While marijuana is a schedule 1 narcotic, unavailable for any use, SCRAs navigate the legal landscape with marketing as non-consumable and frequent modifications to the active ingredients that outpace lawmakers’ updates. When consumed, SCRAs bind the same receptor as the active ingredient in marijuana with 10-1000 times the affinity. Physical reactions to marijuana use include breathing problems, increased heart rate, hallucinations, paranoia, lower blood pressure, and dizziness. [2] Health departments have reported varying clinical presentations in response to SCRAs, including extreme agitation and tachycardia. Ongoing reports of SCRA reactions and rising marijuana legalization emphasize the imperative to leverage syndromic surveillance to monitor trends, detect emerging outbreaks, and observe changes in clinical presentations or user demographics.

Objective

Use syndromic surveillance to identify and monitor adverse health events resulting from synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists (SCRAs) or marijuana. Characterize the current trend of SCRAs and marijuana use among emergency department (ED) and urgent care center (UCC) visits in Virginia to determine whether findings align with utilization trends identified by other states from poison control center calls and ED visits.

The first travel-associated cases of Zika virus infection in New York City (NYC) were identified in January 2016. Local transmission of Zika virus from imported cases is possible due to presence of Aedes albopictus mosquitos. Timely detection of local Zika virus transmission could inform public health interventions and mitigate additional spread of illness. Daily emergency department (ED) visit surveillance to detect individual cases and spatio-temporal clusters of locally-acquired Zika virus disease was initiated in June 2016. 

Objective

Case and cluster identification of emergency department visits related to local transmission of Zika virus.