Biosurveillance: A Definition, Scope and Description of Current Capability for a National Strategy

Homeland Security Presidential Directive – 21 (HSPD-21) requires the Department of Health and Human Services to establish a national biosurveillance capability that provides early warning and situation awareness for urgent public health events.  Early concepts of biosurveillance focused primarily on syndromic surveillance methodologies; while recent descriptions call for a more comprehensive and integrated approach to determine a nationwide biosurveillance capability (1, 2).

Objective:

Develop consensus for the definition, scope and assessment of current nationwide capability for biosurveillance based on diverse stakeholder input.