Real-time Warning and Signal Verification for Infectious Disease Outbreaks using Syndromic Surveillance System in Rural Jiangxi Province, China

Despite the global emergence of syndromic surveillance systems and theories in recent years, the practical performance of this surveillance method under real circumstances had been rarely evaluated, especially in resource-limited areas. Since April 2012, a syndromic surveillance system named 'ISSC' has been established among health care facilities, pharmacies and primary schools in two rural counties (County A & B) of Jiangxi Province, China.

Objective

Our aim was to explore the practical performance of ISSC system through investigating the characteristics and verifying results of alert signals raised during real-time surveillance periods.