Disease surveillance systems are currently used for the early detection of disease outbreak before diagnosis is confirmed in order to mobilize a rapid response . The fear of epidemics or bioterrorism resulted in the development of systems for the general population; however research efforts for sensitive population groups are missing. Sensitive groups could be considered patients suffering from chronic diseases (such as diabetes and renal failure), elderly people and infants. It is well known that these groups are quite susceptible to diseases that can be easily spread under certain circumstances e.g. in a dialysis room where patients with renal failure receive their regular treatment. In addition to that, several diseases seem to affect them more. Therefore, the development of disease surveillance systems for sensitive population groups is an issue that should be addressed.
Objective
The aim of this study is to reveal the need for developing disease surveillance systems for sensitive populations.