Brucella spp., Coxiella burnetii, and tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) are believed to be enzootic in the Republic of Kazakhstan, and pose a particular public health risk due to their transmissibility in unpasteurized milk and dairy products. We established a milk surveillance methodology employing immuno and molecular assays to identify these agents, and applied this methodology to milk samples collected in western Kazakhstan in winter 2014-2015.
Cancer Registration is the systematic collection of data on cancers and the use of such information for action. Population-based cancer registration is not common practice in developing countries. Ghana has had no population-based cancer registry till 2012 when the Kumasi Cancer Registry was established. Established initially as a hospital-based cancer registry, the KsCR has made significant strides in the collection and analysis of data on cancers in Kumasi. We describe the operations of the registry and provide information on data analysis from information collected by the registry for the three year period 2012 to 2014.
Objective
To describe the operations and review data from the Kumasi Cancer Registry for the period 2012 to 2014
In general, data from public health surveillance can be used for short- and long-term planning and response through retrospective data analysis of trends over time or specific events. Combining health outcome data (e.g., hospitalizations or deaths) with environmental and socio-demographic information also provides a more complete picture of most vulnerable populations. Using syndromic surveillance systems for climate and health surveillance offers the unique opportunity to help quantify and track in near-real time the burden of disease from climate and weather impacts.
LD, caused by Borrelia burgdorferi in North America is transmitted to humans from wild animal reservoir hosts by Ixodes spp. ticks1 in their woodland habitats2. LD risk in Canada occurs where tick vectors are established in southern British Columbia (I. pacificus) and in southern parts of central and eastern Canada where I. scapularis is spreading from the United States (US)3. LD became nationally notifiable in Canada in 2009 and demographic data on human cases is submitted by provinces to Canadian Notifiable Disease Surveillance System of the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC). A Lyme Disease Enhanced Surveillance system was initiated by PHAC in 2010 to obtain more detailed data on LD cases. These surveillance systems aim to identify changing trends in LD incidence, the population at risk and the types of clinical disease in Canada. Surveillance data for 2009-2012 are analyzed to describe the early patterns of LD emergence in Canada. Patterns of LD cases (age, season of acquisition and presenting manifestations) were compared against those reported in the US.
Objective
To summarize the first 4 years (2009-2012) of national surveillance for LD in Canada and to conduct a preliminary comparison of presenting clinical manifestations in Canada and the United-States
Communities and sections that are consistently underreporting both illness and death pose a significant risk to surveillance and their efficacy is dependent upon the reporting of community structures such as government structures (primary health units (PHUs), schools), EVD response structures (contact tracers, community events based surveillance (CEBS), social mobilization), and traditional structures (chiefs, traditional healers, village task forces, religious institutions). All structures are required to report to the District Ebola Response Center (DERC) as depicted in Figure 1. Frequent and protocolized information sharing is central to the reporting efficacy within this structure to ensure early capture of all EVD-related incidents.
Objective
Systematically assess and strengthen the capacity of communities and sections in Port Loko District, Sierra Leone to detect significant events related to the reporting of Ebola virus disease (EVD) such as sick persons, secret burials and deaths. The components of the enhanced surveillance system will be described.
School children are the primary introducers and significant transmission sources of influenza virus among their families and surrounding communities [1,2]. Therefore, schools play an important role in amplifying influenza transmission in communities. Using school-related data sources may be an informative addition to existing influenza surveillance. Unplanned school closures (USCs) are common, occur frequently for various reasons, and affect millions of students across the country [3]. Information about USCs is publicly available in real-time. For this study, we evaluated usability of applying USC data for ILI surveillance.
Objective
Evaluate usability of alternative data sources, such as public announcements of unplanned school closures, for additional insight regarding influenza-like illness (ILI) activity.
As of 2012, 3,400 000 million people (all ages) are living with HIV in Nigeria. The estimated new HIV infections is 260,000 and estimated AIDS death is 240,000.The reported number of adults on ART(Anti-retroviral treatment) was 459,465 and the ART coverage based on WHO guideline was 36%.The number of pregnant women living with HIV who received antiretroviral for preventing motherto-child –transmission was 33,323 and the percentage coverage was 17%. Enugu State has the highest prevalence (6.5%) of HIV/ AIDS in the South East and the fourth in Nigeria.To implement the commitments in the 2011 United Nations Political Declaration on HIV and AIDS and increase progress towards universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support, Nigeria has developed the president’s Comprehensive Response Plan (PCRP). PCRP aims to bridge the current gap in service provision and funding. It assesses needs and gaps, identifies focus areas, and set targets for Prevention of mother to child transmission (PMTCT), ART and HIV Counseling and Testing (HCT) services. We determined the implementation of these preventive services by health care providers in Enugu State.
Objective
• To determine the percentage and trends of newly diagnosed HIV positive pregnant women
• To determine the percentage of pregnant women that are counseled tested with result.
• To determine the percentage and trend in the uptake ART among HIV positive pregnant women.
• To determine the average no of individual that are counseled and tested for HIV.
• To determine the average no of individual that are HIV positive
• To estimate the average no of individual currently on ART, newly started on ART and those enrolled into HIV care.
Statutory veterinary disease surveillance generally focuses on food animals with only minimal resources committed to companion animals. However, the close contact between owners and pets suggests that disease surveillance in these species could benefit both animal and human health.
Following a successful pilot, SAVSNET Ltd. was set up as a joint venture between the University of Liverpool (UoL) and the British Small Animal Veterinary Association (BSAVA) to deliver companion animal health data for research and surveillance. SAVSNET consists of two projects: the first collates results from commercial diagnostic laboratories whilst the second collects data from enrolled veterinary practices for consultations where owners have provided consent by opt-out. Both projects have been approved by the UoL’s Research Ethics Committee and the aims are supported by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS), the UK’s regulatory body for the veterinary profession.
Applications to use the data are encouraged and are assessed by a panel consisting of BSAVA, UoL and independent members. Data access attracts a nominal fee that is used for long-term sustainability. Currently, SAVSNET data is being used for a wide range of projects by academic collaborators, PhD researchers, undergraduate students and commercial companies.
Objective
SAVSNET—the Small Animal Veterinary Surveillance Network—collects and collates real-time data from veterinary diagnostic laboratories and veterinary practices across the UK to support research and disease surveillance in companion animals.
Population health relies on tracking patients through a continuum of care with data from disparate sources. An assumption is made that all records of a patient from all the sources are connected. As was realized during the process of operationalizing algorithms for population health, not all patient records are connected. Disconnected records negatively impact results: from individual patient care management through population health’s predictive analytics. An enterprise master patient index (EMPI) system can be employed to connect a patient’s records across disparate systems, but it requires comprehensive tuning to maximize the number of connected records. This presentation describes how one large healthcare integrated delivery network tuned their EMPI system to maximize the number of connected patient records across all sources.
On October 1, 2015, the number of ICD codes will expand from 14,000 in version 9 to 68,000 in version 10. The new code set will increase the specificity of reporting, allowing more information to be conveyed in a single code. It is anticipated that the conversion will have a significant impact on public health surveillance by enhancing the capture of reportable diseases, injuries, and conditions of public health importance that have traditionally been the target of syndromic surveillance monitoring. For public health departments, the upcoming conversion poses a number of challenges, including: 1) Constraints in allocating resources to modify existing systems to accommodate the new code set, 2) Lack of ICD-10 expertise and training to identify which codes are most appropriate for surveillance, 3) Mapping syndrome definitions across code sets, 4) Limited understanding of the precise ICD-10 CM codes that will be used in the US Healthcare system, and 5) Adjusting for changes in trends over time that are due to transitions in usage of codes by providers and billing systems. To accommodate the ICD-9 to ICD-10 transition, the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) partnered with the International Society of Disease Surveillance (ISDS) CoP to form a workgroup to develop the Master Mapping Reference Table (MMRT). This tool maps over 130 syndromes across the two coding systems to assist agencies in modifying existing database structures, extraction rules, and messaging guides, as well as revising established syndromic surveillance definitions and underlying analytic and business rules.
Objective
This roundtable will provide a forum for the syndromic surveillance Community of Practice (CoP) to discuss the public health impacts from the ICD-10-CM conversion, and to support jurisdictional public health practices with this transition. It will be an opportunity to discuss key impacts on disease surveillance and implementation challenges; and identify solutions, best practices, and needs for technical assistance.