When a chemical or biological agent with public health implications is detected in the City of Houston, analysis of syndromic surveillance data is an important tool for investigating the authenticity of the alert, as well as providing information regarding the extent of contamination.
Syndromic surveillance data in Houston is currently provided by the Real-Time Outbreak Disease Surveillance, which collects and synthesizes real-time chief complaint data from 34 area hospitals, representing approximately 70% coverage of licensed ER beds in Harris County. Data collected for each complaint includes patient home and work zip codes, allowing for geographic analysis of the data in the case of a localized environmental contamination.
Historically, when alerted to a contaminant in the Houston area, the Houston Department of Health and Human Services (HDHHS) has analyzed health data for each zip code in the geographic area of interest separately, a time-intensive process.
Recognizing the need for a more accurate and timely response to an environmental alert, HDHHS proposes aggregating zip codes into zones, based on coverage of population and areas of high risk. These “Surveillance Zones” will be used to quickly reference syndromic data in the event of a chemical or biological event.
Objective
This paper discusses the development of zones within the City of Houston in order to more quickly and accurately reference surveillance data in the case of chemical or biological events.