Usefulness of Syndromic Surveillance for Early Outbreak Detection in Small Islands: The Case of Mayotte

Mayotte Island, a French overseas department of around 374 km2 and 200 000 inhabitants is located in the North of Mozambique Channel in the Indian Ocean (Figure1). In response to the threat of the pandemic influenza A(H1N1)2009 virus emergence, a syndromic surveillance system has been implemented in order to monitor its spread and its impact on public health (1). This surveillance system which proved to be useful during the influenza pandemic, has been maintained in order to detect infection diseases outbreaks.

Objective

To present the usefulness of syndromic surveillance for the detection of infectious diseases outbreak in small islands, based on the experience of Mayotte.