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Epidemiological Surveillance

Group A Streptococcal (GAS) pharyngitis, the most common bacterial cause of acute pharyngitis, causes more than half a billion cases annually worldwide. Treatment with antibiotics provides symptomatic benefit and reduces complications, missed work days and transmission. Physical examination alone is an unreliable way to distinguish GAS from other causes of pharyngitis, so the 4-point Centor score, based on history and physical, is used to classify GAS risk. Still, patients with pharyngitis are often misclassified, leading to inappropriate antibiotic treatment of those with viral disease and to under-treatment of those with bone fide GAS. One key problem, even when clinical guidelines are followed, is that diagnostic accuracy for GAS pharyngitis is affected by earlier probability of disease, which in turn is related to exposure. Point-of-care clinicians rarely have access to valuable biosurveillance-derived contextualizing information when making clinical management decisions.

Objective

The objective of this study was to measure the value of integrating real-time contemporaneous local disease incidence (biosurveillance) data with a clinical score, to more accurately identify patients with Group A Streptococcal (GAS) pharyngitis.

Referenced File
Submitted by teresa.hamby@d… on

ECDC long term strategies for surveillance include analysis of trends of communicable disease of public health importance for European Union countries to guide public health actions. The European Surveillance System (TESSy) holds data on 49 communicable diseases reported by 30 countries for at least the past five years. To simplify time related analysis using surveillance data, ECDC launched a project to enable descriptive and routine TSA without the need for complex programming.

Objective

To discuss challenges and opportunities in the introduction of an automated approach for time series analysis (TSA) regarding epidemiological methodology for generation of hypotheses, steps to be performed and interpretation of outputs.

 

Submitted by uysz on

Natural foci of especially dangerous pathogens (EDP) (tularemia, leptospirosis, anthrax, tick-borne infections) are known in Lviv oblast for more than 50 years. An integral part of the epidemiological surveillance of these infections is the monitoring of environmental objects that can detect the circulation of pathogens in natural biotopes. Identification and studying of the activity of natural foci of EDP in the territory of Lviv oblast in previous years was conducted using classical laboratory and epidemiological methods.

Objective:

Study the advantages of using the PCR method for monitoring of natural foci within the EDP surveillance system.

Submitted by elamb on

Final Four-associated events culminated in four days of intense activity from 3/31/17-4/3/17, which attracted an estimated 400,000 visitors to Maricopa County (population 4.2 million). Field teams of staff and volunteers were deployed to three days of Music Fest, four days of Fan Fest, and three Final Four games (Games) as part of an enhanced epidemiologic surveillance system.

Objective:

To describe and present results of field-based near-real time syndromic surveillance conducted at first aid stations during the 2017 National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Men’s College Basketball Championship (Final Four) events, and the use of field team data to improve situational awareness for Mass Gathering events.

Submitted by elamb on

Final Four-associated events culminated in four days of intense activity from March 31st through April 3rd, and added an estimated 400,000 visitors to Maricopa County's 4.2 million residents.

Objective:

To describe and present results for the enhanced epidemiologic surveillance system established during the 2017 National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Men’s College Basketball Championship (Final Four) events.

Submitted by elamb on
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