Investigating a Syndromic Surveillance Signal with Complimentary Data Systems

From June 4-8, 2015, the New York City (NYC) syndromic surveillance system detected five one-day citywide signals in sales of over-the-counter (OTC) antidiarrheal medications using the CUSUM method with a 56-day moving baseline. The OTC system monitors sales of two classes of antidiarrheal medications, products with loperamide or bismuth, from two NYC pharmacy chains. To determine if this increase reflected a concerning cluster of diarrheal illness, we examined multiple communicable disease surveillance data systems.

Objective

To investigate a communicable disease syndromic surveillance signal using multiple data sources.