At its meeting during the 8th Annual ISDS Conference in Miami, FL, the Global Outreach Committee acknowledged the work of Duncan Cooper over the past year as Board Liaison. Jean-Paul Chretien, newly elected to the Board of Directors, will step up as Board Liaison for 2010, along with Louise Wilson, who has agreed to be the Committee Chair.
The meeting began with a review of the Global Outreach mission, which includes ensuring that international needs of the Society are met, and that the group aligns itself with the overall strategy of the ISDS.
2009 was met with many successes, including the continuation of the Committee’s newsletter, “The Network.” The newsletter has been well received by the ISDS Board of Directors, and may potentially serve as a model for a Society-wide publication in the future. Volunteers within the Committee will be needed to help keep the newsletter moving forward.
In 2010, the Committee hopes to renew its goal of increasing international awareness of the ISDS and what has to offer, as well as liaising with other ISDS Committees to increase their international perspective. The Committee will continue to host regular teleconferences and foster collaboration so that its members can share best practices and common elements of surveillance.
In order to increase international awareness of the ISDS, it was suggested that informational flyers could be dispersed at meetings in Europe and beyond. Another possibility is strengthening the European ISDS network to form a European chapter of the Committee. A European chapter could potentially explore ISDS co-branding at other meetings and focus on convening at key conferences outside of North America in 2010.
Looking forward to the 9th Annual ISDS Conference, to be held in Utah, it is hoped that the Committee can provide advice to the 2010 program planners on increasing international content, and possibly pursuing funding for international travelers.
Other suggestions for how the Committee can expand its outreach included: leverage of the Distribute Project outside of the U.S., involvement with International Health Regulations (IHR) and major event surveillance (such as the Olympics).
Next Meeting: Wednesday, January 27th at 10:00 am U.S. EST.
Welcome to the blog for the International Society for Disease Surveillance. By serving as a gateway to other ISDS resources, this blog is intended to keep Society members informed on recent Society activity and news in disease surveillance. You can view the full blog by clicking on the banner above.
17 December 2009
24 November 2009
Postdoctoral Fellowship in Bayesian Biosurveillance
The ISDS has received the following job opening to pass along to our membership. Contact information for the position is listed at the bottom of the entry.
~~~
The Cooper Laboratory in the Department of Biomedical Informatics (DBMI) at the University of Pittsburgh invites applications for a two-year postdoctoral fellowship involving research on Bayesian modeling and inference for disease outbreak detection and characterization. The position is available starting December 1, 2009. The project is advancing the state-of-the-art in research at the intersection of computer science, epidemiology, Bayesian methods, and graphical models. It is an integral part of DBMI's new CDC Center of Excellence in Public Health Informatics, which is being led by the RODS Laboratory.
The project specifically involves developing, implementing, and evaluating new Bayesian computational methods for detecting outbreaks of disease as soon as possible from healthcare data, such as emergency department records. It has access to large sets of data that are relevant to disease outbreak detection and characterization. The project team includes public health officials, who are responsible for detecting disease outbreaks in the population, and a key goal of the project is to provide them with state-of-the-art Bayesian methods for detecting and characterizing outbreaks in the service of improving public health. The research project involves a tight loop between theory and practice, with the goal of advancing both.
The postdoctoral fellow will be involved in all aspects of the project, particularly in bridging between the conceptual aspects of the research (in collaboration with the project faculty) and the implementation of those concepts as computer programs (in collaboration with the project programmer). The fellow will also be centrally involved in evaluating the methods that are developed.
Candidates must have a Ph.D. in biomedical informatics, computer science, machine learning, statistics, or a related field. Candidates must also have a strong working knowledge of the Java, C++, or a related programming language. Knowledge of Bayesian statistics and Bayesian networks are desirable, but not required.
Three letters of recommendation should accompany the application or be sent independently at the same time to the contact below.
~~~
Please send a curriculum vitae and the letters of recommendation to:
Ms. Daphne Henry
e-mail (preferred): dahst44@pitt.edu
fax: (412) 802-6803
phone: (412) 648-6738
~~~
The Cooper Laboratory in the Department of Biomedical Informatics (DBMI) at the University of Pittsburgh invites applications for a two-year postdoctoral fellowship involving research on Bayesian modeling and inference for disease outbreak detection and characterization. The position is available starting December 1, 2009. The project is advancing the state-of-the-art in research at the intersection of computer science, epidemiology, Bayesian methods, and graphical models. It is an integral part of DBMI's new CDC Center of Excellence in Public Health Informatics, which is being led by the RODS Laboratory.
The project specifically involves developing, implementing, and evaluating new Bayesian computational methods for detecting outbreaks of disease as soon as possible from healthcare data, such as emergency department records. It has access to large sets of data that are relevant to disease outbreak detection and characterization. The project team includes public health officials, who are responsible for detecting disease outbreaks in the population, and a key goal of the project is to provide them with state-of-the-art Bayesian methods for detecting and characterizing outbreaks in the service of improving public health. The research project involves a tight loop between theory and practice, with the goal of advancing both.
The postdoctoral fellow will be involved in all aspects of the project, particularly in bridging between the conceptual aspects of the research (in collaboration with the project faculty) and the implementation of those concepts as computer programs (in collaboration with the project programmer). The fellow will also be centrally involved in evaluating the methods that are developed.
Candidates must have a Ph.D. in biomedical informatics, computer science, machine learning, statistics, or a related field. Candidates must also have a strong working knowledge of the Java, C++, or a related programming language. Knowledge of Bayesian statistics and Bayesian networks are desirable, but not required.
Three letters of recommendation should accompany the application or be sent independently at the same time to the contact below.
~~~
Please send a curriculum vitae and the letters of recommendation to:
Ms. Daphne Henry
e-mail (preferred): dahst44@pitt.edu
fax: (412) 802-6803
phone: (412) 648-6738
23 November 2009
Cerner and "Health Aware": November PHPC Meeting
On today's Public Health Practice Committee conference call, Cole Erdmann, Analyst with the Cerner Corporation presented on their flu pandemic tracking initiative known as “HealthAware”. Other Cerner Corporation representatives were available to respond to questions including Michelle Siefert, Solution Manager & Jason Burritt, Sr. Manager. An update on the current findings of DiSTRIBuTE and the latest news on the upcoming ISDS conference was also discussed.
Slides from Cole Erdmann's presentation are now available on the ISDS wiki.
The next meeting of the PHPC will take place on Thursday, December 3rd at the 8th Annual ISDS Conference in Miami, FL. The meeting will be held from 6:15 to 7:00 pm in the Castillian Room at the Miami Beach Resort & Spa.
Slides from Cole Erdmann's presentation are now available on the ISDS wiki.
The next meeting of the PHPC will take place on Thursday, December 3rd at the 8th Annual ISDS Conference in Miami, FL. The meeting will be held from 6:15 to 7:00 pm in the Castillian Room at the Miami Beach Resort & Spa.
06 November 2009
ISDS Members and Distribute Participants Win 2009 Davies Awards
The ISDS is pleased to announce that one of its Board Directors, Julia Gunn, along with her team at the Boston Public Health Commission (BPHC), recently received the 2009 Davies Public Health Award of Excellence for their work with syndromic surveillance. As one of its original participants, the Boston Syndromic Surveillance System (B-SYNSS) has made significant contributions to the ISDS Distribute collaborative.
The BPHC Infectious Disease Bureau was one of two institutions to win this award, along with active ISDS member Art Davidson for the Denver Public Health Information Service (DPH-IS). Both Julia and Art made presentations at a breakfast on September 2nd, 2009 as a part of the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions’ PHIN Conference in Atlanta. The Davies Award, managed by HIMSS, is meant to “[Recognize] public health achievement through health information management, specifically electronic health records(1).”
In a recent phone interview with Julia Gunn, she explained that the BPHC decided to apply for the award because syndromic surveillance has really changed how they look at information. For example, having a syndromic surveillance system enabled them to participate in Distribute and to compare data with other participating health departments. Comparing data between jurisdictions allows Distribute participants to see differences across regions and urban areas (rather than simply state to state), revealing new patterns in disease spread.
Not only did their use of syndromic surveillance allow the BPHC to see new patterns in disease spread, but it also increased situational awareness, especially with Boston’s H1N1 outbreak this past spring. With more information available on influenza-like illness (ILI), the BPHC could adjust both practice and response as necessary. Changes in practice, in turn, led to the continued evaluation and modification of their syndromic surveillance system. Over time, the BPHC has been able to tweak its system’s definitions for ILI based on population-specific descriptions, further improving disease monitoring.
When asked what part of the Distribute Project has been most valuable to her team, Gunn responded that it has been the active community of practice. When working with a moving target such as an epidemic, having more details readily available better equips a health department to respond appropriately. Having access to a support system where ideas and strategies can be shared--especially between similar jurisdictions--has been beneficial. It was particularly valuable for Boston to be able to compare data with New York City this past spring, whose outbreak of H1N1 was slightly ahead of Boston’s. Due to similarities that the two cities share, such as weather patterns and school systems, it was helpful to trade insight and experience between the respective health departments.
The ISDS would like to congratulate Julia and the BPHC for their receipt of the Davies Award, and for contributing to the awareness and improvement of syndromic surveillance.
References:
1. HIMSS News: Two Organizations Honored with 2009 Davies Public Health Award of Excellence
Additional Information:
BPHC Press Release
The BPHC Infectious Disease Bureau was one of two institutions to win this award, along with active ISDS member Art Davidson for the Denver Public Health Information Service (DPH-IS). Both Julia and Art made presentations at a breakfast on September 2nd, 2009 as a part of the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions’ PHIN Conference in Atlanta. The Davies Award, managed by HIMSS, is meant to “[Recognize] public health achievement through health information management, specifically electronic health records(1).”
In a recent phone interview with Julia Gunn, she explained that the BPHC decided to apply for the award because syndromic surveillance has really changed how they look at information. For example, having a syndromic surveillance system enabled them to participate in Distribute and to compare data with other participating health departments. Comparing data between jurisdictions allows Distribute participants to see differences across regions and urban areas (rather than simply state to state), revealing new patterns in disease spread.
Not only did their use of syndromic surveillance allow the BPHC to see new patterns in disease spread, but it also increased situational awareness, especially with Boston’s H1N1 outbreak this past spring. With more information available on influenza-like illness (ILI), the BPHC could adjust both practice and response as necessary. Changes in practice, in turn, led to the continued evaluation and modification of their syndromic surveillance system. Over time, the BPHC has been able to tweak its system’s definitions for ILI based on population-specific descriptions, further improving disease monitoring.
When asked what part of the Distribute Project has been most valuable to her team, Gunn responded that it has been the active community of practice. When working with a moving target such as an epidemic, having more details readily available better equips a health department to respond appropriately. Having access to a support system where ideas and strategies can be shared--especially between similar jurisdictions--has been beneficial. It was particularly valuable for Boston to be able to compare data with New York City this past spring, whose outbreak of H1N1 was slightly ahead of Boston’s. Due to similarities that the two cities share, such as weather patterns and school systems, it was helpful to trade insight and experience between the respective health departments.
The ISDS would like to congratulate Julia and the BPHC for their receipt of the Davies Award, and for contributing to the awareness and improvement of syndromic surveillance.
References:
1. HIMSS News: Two Organizations Honored with 2009 Davies Public Health Award of Excellence
Additional Information:
BPHC Press Release
27 October 2009
APHA session to follow up on Research Committee's May webinar
As a follow up to the Research Committee's May 2009 webinar, "Technical Challenges from the Public Health Practice Community," several ISDS members will be participating in a panel session at this year's APHA Annual Meeting in Philadelphia, PA.
The session, entitled "Disease Surveillance and Health Program Monitoring Part I: Challenges from Public Health Practitioners to Statisticians and Technology Developers," will be taking place on Monday, November 9th from 10:30 am to 12:00 pm EST. The panel was organized by Howard Burkom, ISDS Board Member and Research Committee Chair, based on the abstracts submitted for the May webinar. He will also be acting as moderator for the session.
Session schedule:
10:30 AM
Research Priorities for Syndromic Surveillance Systems Response: An Expert Panel Summary
Corey Farrell
10:50 AM
Expanding electronic health information: Implications for public health practice
Julia Gunn, RN, MPH
11:10 AM
Need for Decision Support Tools in Local Public Health Surveillance and Response
Michael Coletta, MPH
11:30 AM
TBD
More information and full abstracts available here
The session, entitled "Disease Surveillance and Health Program Monitoring Part I: Challenges from Public Health Practitioners to Statisticians and Technology Developers," will be taking place on Monday, November 9th from 10:30 am to 12:00 pm EST. The panel was organized by Howard Burkom, ISDS Board Member and Research Committee Chair, based on the abstracts submitted for the May webinar. He will also be acting as moderator for the session.
Session schedule:
10:30 AM
Research Priorities for Syndromic Surveillance Systems Response: An Expert Panel Summary
Corey Farrell
10:50 AM
Expanding electronic health information: Implications for public health practice
Julia Gunn, RN, MPH
11:10 AM
Need for Decision Support Tools in Local Public Health Surveillance and Response
Michael Coletta, MPH
11:30 AM
TBD
More information and full abstracts available here
26 October 2009
Presentation by Dr. Craig Hales: October Public Health Practice Committee Meeting
During the October meeting of the Public Health Practice Committee, a presentation was given by Craig Hales, MD, MPH (LCDR, US Public Health Service; CDC National Center for Public Health Informatics) on the "Integration of Various Surveillance Systems on the BioSense Influenza Module."
Dr. Hales' slides are now available for viewing on the ISDS wiki.
The next meeting of the PHPC will be held on Monday, November 23rd from 12:30-1:30 pm EST.
Dr. Hales' slides are now available for viewing on the ISDS wiki.
The next meeting of the PHPC will be held on Monday, November 23rd from 12:30-1:30 pm EST.
28 September 2009
September Public Health Practice Committee Meeting
When: Monday, September 28th 2009; 12:30-1:30 pm EDT
Agenda:
1. Welcome
2. ISDS Updates: Rachel Viola, ISDS Project Manager and Julia E. Gunn, RN, MPH (ISDS Board Representative)
3. Michael Jhung MD, MPH, of the CDC Influenza Division: Surveillance & Response Team will provide information on the syndromic surveillance component of the state's weekly influenza report to the CDC in a presentation entitled: “New Aggregate National Influenza Surveillance. For the 2009-2010 Influenza Season” (see PDF of his slides)
4. ISDS Funding & DiSTRIBuTE Project Updates: Don Olson, ISDS Research Director
Next Meeting: Monday, October 26th at 12:30 pm EDT.
Agenda:
1. Welcome
2. ISDS Updates: Rachel Viola, ISDS Project Manager and Julia E. Gunn, RN, MPH (ISDS Board Representative)
3. Michael Jhung MD, MPH, of the CDC Influenza Division: Surveillance & Response Team will provide information on the syndromic surveillance component of the state's weekly influenza report to the CDC in a presentation entitled: “New Aggregate National Influenza Surveillance. For the 2009-2010 Influenza Season” (see PDF of his slides)
4. ISDS Funding & DiSTRIBuTE Project Updates: Don Olson, ISDS Research Director
Next Meeting: Monday, October 26th at 12:30 pm EDT.
24 September 2009
Data Visualization for Health Surveillance: Webinar Recording and Slides Now Available
The recording and presentation slides from the Research Committee's webinar on "Data Visualization for Health Surveillance: Current Concepts and New Horizons" are now available on the ISDS wiki.
Thanks to all who attended and have continued to make the Research Committee's webinars a success. If you would like to get involved in future activities of the Research Committee, please contact: rviola-at-syndromic.org.
Thanks to all who attended and have continued to make the Research Committee's webinars a success. If you would like to get involved in future activities of the Research Committee, please contact: rviola-at-syndromic.org.
School Based Surveillance Research Opportunities
As a follow-up from the Research Committee's July webinar on school based surveillance research, Dr. Francisco Averhoff of the CDC has invited ISDS members to participate in research studies related to this topic.
Study areas include:
1. Why some schools K-12/Universities have outbreaks and not others (risk factors)
2. Use of school absenteeism data
3. Occupational risk for ILI in school personnel
4. Lessons learned about control of ILI in schools/universities
If you are interested in participating, please contact:
fma0-at-cdc.gov
syw9-at-cdc.gov
dic6-at-cdc.gov
Study areas include:
1. Why some schools K-12/Universities have outbreaks and not others (risk factors)
2. Use of school absenteeism data
3. Occupational risk for ILI in school personnel
4. Lessons learned about control of ILI in schools/universities
If you are interested in participating, please contact:
fma0-at-cdc.gov
syw9-at-cdc.gov
dic6-at-cdc.gov
10 September 2009
Research Committee September Topical Meeting
For its upcoming topical meeting, the Research Committee will be hosting a webinar panel discussion entitled “Data Visualization for Health Surveillance: Current Concepts and New Horizons.” Participating panelists include:
-Wayne Loschen, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory
-Karl Soetebier, Georgia Division of Public Health
-Paul Picciano, Aptima, Inc.
-Frank Hardisty, Penn State University
The panelists include veteran developers with long public health relationships as well as visualization experts newer to health surveillance but with substantial experience in other fields.
Each panelist will present for 10-15 minutes followed by an open discussion.
This webinar will be taking place on Wednesday, September 23rd from 10:00-11:30 am, US Eastern Time. Register here
-Wayne Loschen, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory
-Karl Soetebier, Georgia Division of Public Health
-Paul Picciano, Aptima, Inc.
-Frank Hardisty, Penn State University
The panelists include veteran developers with long public health relationships as well as visualization experts newer to health surveillance but with substantial experience in other fields.
Each panelist will present for 10-15 minutes followed by an open discussion.
This webinar will be taking place on Wednesday, September 23rd from 10:00-11:30 am, US Eastern Time. Register here
September Article Listing for Literature Review
The following list contains the most recent articles collected by the Research Committee's automated search. These articles will be reviewed on the next Literature Review call, taking place on Thursday, October 29th, 2009 at 10:00 am EST.
------
van Hal SJ, Foo H, Blyth CC, McPhie K, Armstrong P, Sintchenko V, Dwyer DE.
Influenza outbreak during Sydney World Youth Day 2008: the utility of laboratory testing and case definitions on mass gathering outbreak containment.
PLoS One. 2009 Sep 3;4(9):e6620.
Elbert Y, Burkom HS.
Development and evaluation of a data-adaptive alerting algorithm for univariate temporal biosurveillance data.
Stat Med. 2009 Sep 1
Caudle JM, van Dijk A, Rolland E, Moore KM.
Telehealth Ontario detection of gastrointestinal illness outbreaks.
Can J Public Health. 2009 Jul-Aug;100(4):253-7.
Bayesian Information Fusion Networks for Biosurveillance Applications.
J Am Med Inform Assoc. 2009 Aug 28
Elliot AJ, Powers C, Thornton A, Obi C, Hill C, Simms I, Waight P, Maguire H, Foord D, Povey E, Wreghitt T, Goddard N, Ellis J, Bermingham A, Sebastianpillai P, Lackenby A, Zambon M, Brown D, Smith GE, Gill ON.
Monitoring the emergence of community transmission of influenza A/H1N1 2009 in England: a cross sectional opportunistic survey of self sampled telephone callers to NHS Direct.
BMJ. 2009 Aug 27;339:b3403.
Uscher-Pines L, Farrell CL, Cattani J, Hsieh YH, Moskal MD, Babin SM, Gaydos CA, Rothman RE.
A survey of usage protocols of syndromic surveillance systems by state public health departments in the United States.
J Public Health Manag Pract. 2009 Sep-Oct;15(5):432-8.
Blair PJ, Wierzba TF, Touch S, Vonthanak S, Xu X, Garten RJ, Okomo-Adhiambo MA, Klimov AI, Kasper MR, Putnam SD.
Influenza epidemiology and characterization of influenza viruses in patients seeking treatment for acute fever in Cambodia.
Epidemiol Infect. 2009 Aug 24;:1-11.
Babin SM.
Using syndromic surveillance systems to detect pneumonic plague.
Epidemiol Infect. 2009 Aug 24;:1-8.
20Aug2009
Osnas EE, Heisey DM, Rolley RE, Samuel MD.
Spatial and temporal patterns of chronic wasting disease: fine-scale mapping of a wildlife epidemic in Wisconsin.
Ecol Appl. 2009 Jul;19(5):1311-22.
Wang X, Zeng D, Seale H, Li S, Cheng H, Luan R, He X, Pang X, Dou X, Wang Q.
Comparing Early Outbreak Detection Algorithms Based on Their Optimized Parameter Values.
J Biomed Inform. 2009 Aug 12.
Uphoff H, Geis S, Grüber A, Hauri A.
What will the next influenza season bring about: seasonal influenza or the new A(H1N1)v? An analysis of German influenza surveillance data.
Euro Surveill. 2009 Aug 13;14(32.
------
van Hal SJ, Foo H, Blyth CC, McPhie K, Armstrong P, Sintchenko V, Dwyer DE.
Influenza outbreak during Sydney World Youth Day 2008: the utility of laboratory testing and case definitions on mass gathering outbreak containment.
PLoS One. 2009 Sep 3;4(9):e6620.
Elbert Y, Burkom HS.
Development and evaluation of a data-adaptive alerting algorithm for univariate temporal biosurveillance data.
Stat Med. 2009 Sep 1
Caudle JM, van Dijk A, Rolland E, Moore KM.
Telehealth Ontario detection of gastrointestinal illness outbreaks.
Can J Public Health. 2009 Jul-Aug;100(4):253-7.
Bayesian Information Fusion Networks for Biosurveillance Applications.
J Am Med Inform Assoc. 2009 Aug 28
Elliot AJ, Powers C, Thornton A, Obi C, Hill C, Simms I, Waight P, Maguire H, Foord D, Povey E, Wreghitt T, Goddard N, Ellis J, Bermingham A, Sebastianpillai P, Lackenby A, Zambon M, Brown D, Smith GE, Gill ON.
Monitoring the emergence of community transmission of influenza A/H1N1 2009 in England: a cross sectional opportunistic survey of self sampled telephone callers to NHS Direct.
BMJ. 2009 Aug 27;339:b3403.
Uscher-Pines L, Farrell CL, Cattani J, Hsieh YH, Moskal MD, Babin SM, Gaydos CA, Rothman RE.
A survey of usage protocols of syndromic surveillance systems by state public health departments in the United States.
J Public Health Manag Pract. 2009 Sep-Oct;15(5):432-8.
Blair PJ, Wierzba TF, Touch S, Vonthanak S, Xu X, Garten RJ, Okomo-Adhiambo MA, Klimov AI, Kasper MR, Putnam SD.
Influenza epidemiology and characterization of influenza viruses in patients seeking treatment for acute fever in Cambodia.
Epidemiol Infect. 2009 Aug 24;:1-11.
Babin SM.
Using syndromic surveillance systems to detect pneumonic plague.
Epidemiol Infect. 2009 Aug 24;:1-8.
20Aug2009
Osnas EE, Heisey DM, Rolley RE, Samuel MD.
Spatial and temporal patterns of chronic wasting disease: fine-scale mapping of a wildlife epidemic in Wisconsin.
Ecol Appl. 2009 Jul;19(5):1311-22.
Wang X, Zeng D, Seale H, Li S, Cheng H, Luan R, He X, Pang X, Dou X, Wang Q.
Comparing Early Outbreak Detection Algorithms Based on Their Optimized Parameter Values.
J Biomed Inform. 2009 Aug 12.
Uphoff H, Geis S, Grüber A, Hauri A.
What will the next influenza season bring about: seasonal influenza or the new A(H1N1)v? An analysis of German influenza surveillance data.
Euro Surveill. 2009 Aug 13;14(32.
02 September 2009
Links to International Novel A (H1N1) Influenza Picture
The following list of links was compiled for the Global Outreach Committee's blog series on the Novel A (H1N1) influenza virus.
Centers for Disease Control (US): International Map
BBC - United Kingdom (Source: WHO): Swine Flu by Country
HealthMap - Harvard Medical School, US
(Diseases last 30 days - select none then Swine flu)
Centers for Disease Control (US): International Map
BBC - United Kingdom (Source: WHO): Swine Flu by Country
HealthMap - Harvard Medical School, US
(Diseases last 30 days - select none then Swine flu)
H1N1: A Veterinary Perspective
The following article was written by Victor Del Rio Vilas, DVM, MBA, MSc, PhD, for the Global Outreach Committee's blog series on the Novel A (H1N1) influenza virus.
To date, four incidents of pandemic H1N1 2009 virus in domestic species have been reported worldwide (OIE). The first incident was reported in Canada and affected pigs. Pigs were also reported from Argentina and Australia. The fourth incident, in Chile, affected two commercial breeding turkey farms. This last incident in turkeys is the first report of birds being infected with the pandemic H1N1 2009 virus. This finding is at odds with previous evidence that showed that poultry (chickens) were refractory to infection (Lange et al., 2009). In all four cases there was some evidence that personnel working or visiting the premises showed some flu-like illness. In the Australian incident, pandemic H1N1 2009 virus was isolated from staff.
UK’s Government position, referring to disease in pigs, is one of collaboration with the industry. To date, UK’s animal authorities consider novel influenza in pigs an industry’s problem and so the industry should lead. UK’s authorities have supported the industry and provided advice in the production of a code of practice against influenza viruses (not only pandemic H1N1 2009). Other approaches have been developed elsewhere (e.g. the development of contingency plans for novel influenza in swine herds in the Netherlands). With regard to poultry, the British Veterinary Association (2009) has issued warnings to poultry keepers to prevent staff with flu-like illness from working with poultry.
There appears to be a consensus that infection in swine herds would not constitute a significant source of infection to humans, compared to human to human transmission, in a situation of widespread infection of the human population. However, there is uncertainty as to what it would be the impact of pandemic H1N1 2009 incidents in animal populations once the peak of the epidemic in humans has passed. At the tail of the epidemic in humans, if H1N1 does not become a recurrent event as it is the case of regular flu, the relevance of animal transmission to humans, and the surveillance value of reverse zoonosis incidents might increase. This would resemble the situation at the start of the epidemic when the first case reported in Canada in pigs had some value in the detection of human infection hidden to the regular Public Health surveillance systems.
The importance of pandemic H1N1 2009, from a veterinary perspective, goes beyond its Public Health impact. Following UK’s four reasons for Government intervention (welfare impact, Public Health impact, wider society impact and trade impact), novel influenza in any domestic species could result, as it has happened already, in trade restrictions. So far, infection in animals has shown mild disease presentations, in swine and birds, with rapid recovery. On this basis, the impact on the welfare appears to be reduced. Finally, the impact on the wider society, at the peak of the epidemic in humans, is likely to be, in comparison to the potential disruption caused by the human form, insignificant. This assessment may or course change in the future if the epidemic in humans recedes.
Surveillance of potential pandemic H1N1 2009 incidents in Great Britain relies on submissions of suspect cases by farmers. The number of submissions in 2009 remains steady. This is a positive result that challenges initial fears of a drop in the number of submissions by farmers due to potential retail pressures.
OIE (2009)
Lange E., Kalthoff D., Blohm U., Teifke J.P., Breithaupt A., Maresch C., Starick E., Fereidouni S., Hoffmann B., Mettnleiter T.C., Beer C., Vahlenkamp T.W. (2009). Pathogenesis and transmission of the novel swine-origin influenza virus A/H1N1 after experimental infection of pigs. Journal of General Virology 90, 2119-2123.
About the Author:
Victor J Del Rio Vilas, DVM, MBA, MSc, PhD
UK
*The views expressed above are solely those of the author.
To date, four incidents of pandemic H1N1 2009 virus in domestic species have been reported worldwide (OIE). The first incident was reported in Canada and affected pigs. Pigs were also reported from Argentina and Australia. The fourth incident, in Chile, affected two commercial breeding turkey farms. This last incident in turkeys is the first report of birds being infected with the pandemic H1N1 2009 virus. This finding is at odds with previous evidence that showed that poultry (chickens) were refractory to infection (Lange et al., 2009). In all four cases there was some evidence that personnel working or visiting the premises showed some flu-like illness. In the Australian incident, pandemic H1N1 2009 virus was isolated from staff.
UK’s Government position, referring to disease in pigs, is one of collaboration with the industry. To date, UK’s animal authorities consider novel influenza in pigs an industry’s problem and so the industry should lead. UK’s authorities have supported the industry and provided advice in the production of a code of practice against influenza viruses (not only pandemic H1N1 2009). Other approaches have been developed elsewhere (e.g. the development of contingency plans for novel influenza in swine herds in the Netherlands). With regard to poultry, the British Veterinary Association (2009) has issued warnings to poultry keepers to prevent staff with flu-like illness from working with poultry.
There appears to be a consensus that infection in swine herds would not constitute a significant source of infection to humans, compared to human to human transmission, in a situation of widespread infection of the human population. However, there is uncertainty as to what it would be the impact of pandemic H1N1 2009 incidents in animal populations once the peak of the epidemic in humans has passed. At the tail of the epidemic in humans, if H1N1 does not become a recurrent event as it is the case of regular flu, the relevance of animal transmission to humans, and the surveillance value of reverse zoonosis incidents might increase. This would resemble the situation at the start of the epidemic when the first case reported in Canada in pigs had some value in the detection of human infection hidden to the regular Public Health surveillance systems.
The importance of pandemic H1N1 2009, from a veterinary perspective, goes beyond its Public Health impact. Following UK’s four reasons for Government intervention (welfare impact, Public Health impact, wider society impact and trade impact), novel influenza in any domestic species could result, as it has happened already, in trade restrictions. So far, infection in animals has shown mild disease presentations, in swine and birds, with rapid recovery. On this basis, the impact on the welfare appears to be reduced. Finally, the impact on the wider society, at the peak of the epidemic in humans, is likely to be, in comparison to the potential disruption caused by the human form, insignificant. This assessment may or course change in the future if the epidemic in humans recedes.
Surveillance of potential pandemic H1N1 2009 incidents in Great Britain relies on submissions of suspect cases by farmers. The number of submissions in 2009 remains steady. This is a positive result that challenges initial fears of a drop in the number of submissions by farmers due to potential retail pressures.
OIE (2009)
Lange E., Kalthoff D., Blohm U., Teifke J.P., Breithaupt A., Maresch C., Starick E., Fereidouni S., Hoffmann B., Mettnleiter T.C., Beer C., Vahlenkamp T.W. (2009). Pathogenesis and transmission of the novel swine-origin influenza virus A/H1N1 after experimental infection of pigs. Journal of General Virology 90, 2119-2123.
About the Author:
Victor J Del Rio Vilas, DVM, MBA, MSc, PhD
UK
*The views expressed above are solely those of the author.
Novel A (H1N1) Influenza Virus Medical and Clinical Issues for Epidemiologists
The following list of recommendations and resources was compiled by Larissa May, MD, MSPH, for the Global Outreach Committee's blog series on the Novel A (H1N1) influenza virus.
***All recommendations are based on CDC and WHO guidelines and are based on the current relatively mild disease noted in patients in the developed world. These recommendations are subject to ongoing review and change. In the event of increased virulence of the novel A (H1N1) strain, or changes in morbidity and mortality, or regional variations in pattern of disease, recommendations are likely to change.***
Clinical Features:
Novel Influenza A (H1N1) presents in a similar fashion to seasonal influenza. Symptoms include fever, cough, sore throat, nasal congestion, myalgias, headache, chills, and fatigue/malaise. 25% of persons, including adults, may have GI-related symptoms, including vomiting and diarrhea (CDC, 2009) (Dawood F et al, 2009).
Diagnosis:
Clinicians should consider testing persons with ILI who are severely ill or at risk of influenza-related complications. In the event of a pandemic, the diagnosis of influenza will typically be made clinically by the treating provider, and most information on viral strains will be available through laboratory-based surveillance mechanisms. CDC is no longer recommending testing of all persons with suspected influenza infection.
Vaccination:
Seasonal Influenza:
This year, the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) has extended the recommendations for annual seasonal influenza vaccination to include those individuals 6 months to 18 years of age, in addition to the traditional target groups:
• Healthcare workers
• Individuals greater than 65 years of age
• Individuals with comorbidities such as asthma, cardiopulmonary disease, chronic neurological issues, and immune suppression.
(CDC ACIP, 2009)
Novel A (H1N1) Influenza:
While a novel Influenza A (H1N1) vaccine is currently undergoing clinical trials, the expected dates for distribution are unknown due to uncertainty in clinical trial completion dates and time required for manufacture. In the event of a pandemic due to the novel Influenza A (H1N1) strain, in the United States it is likely the vaccine will be distributed via public health authorities through special allocation. Requirements for vaccine administration are yet to be finalized regarding the possibility of concurrent administration of seasonal and H1N1 vaccines and number of doses required. The ACIP is expected to revise their recommendations before the 2009-2010 influenza season. Currently, in terms of prioritization, the focus is on schools grades K-12, pregnant women, children 6 months to age 4, household contacts of infants less than 6 months, those under 65 at risk for severe influenza, and health care workers and first responders (CDC, 2009).
Treatment Recommendations:
Persons at risk are:
• Children younger than 5
• Persons aged 65 or older
• Children and young adults under 18 on long term aspirin therapy
• Pregnant women, adults and children with asthma
• Chronic pulmonary, cardiovascular, hepatic, hematologic, neurologic/neuromusuclar or metabolic disorders including diabetes)
• Adults and children with immunosuppression (includes HIV and immune suppressive medications)
• Residents of nursing homes or other long term care facilities.
Antiviral Medications:
According to the CDC, antiviral medications with activity against influenza are useful adjuncts in the prevention and early treatment of influenza (CDC ACIP, 2009).
Four antiviral agents are currently FDA licensed: amantadine, rimantadine, zanamivir, and olsetamivir. During the 2007-2008 and 2008-2009 influenza seasons, influenza A (H1N1) viruses with a mutation conferring resistance to olsetamavir commonplace in United States (99% resistance rate) and other countries (Lackenby et al, 2008; Meijia et al, 2009; WHO, 2009, CDC, 2008). However, the novel A (H1N1) strain has shown susceptibility to olsetamivir (Dharan et al, 2009).
During the novel A (H1N1) outbreak in May 2009, CDC published interim guidelines for treatment and prophylaxis of influenza in patients diagnosed with the novel H1N1 virus (CDC H1N1 Recommentations).
These guidelines recommend that all hospitalized patients with confirmed, probable or suspected H1N1 and persons at high risk for complications be treated with antiviral agents. Clinical judgment should be reserved for others on a case by case basis. Either olsetamivir or zanamivir may be used for treatment or prophylaxis. Chemoprophylaxis is recommended for close contacts of influenza cases who are at high risk, including healthcare workers, first responders and public health workers. Post exposure prophylaxis should be continued for ten days beyond the date of last exposure. Pre-exposure prophylaxis can be considered for persons at high risk who cannot avoid contact with an individual with influenza, i.e. caregivers of persons with influenza who are in high-risk categories. For ongoing occupational risk, temporary reassignment for persons at risk is recommended, or the use of personal protective equipment where exposure cannot be avoided. Consultation with local public health and medical experts is recommended (CDC, 2009).
Infection Control in Healthcare Settings:
CDC guidelines for contact and droplet precautions should be followed. Routine cleaning and disinfection protocols should be followed. In the event that a high risk procedure is undertaken (i.e. elective intubation, aerosol generating procedures such as the administration of nebulized medications, etc), airborne isolation in a negative pressure room with 6 to 12 air changes per hour should be instituted. If patients must be transported outside the room, a surgical mask should be placed on the patient. Although there is little evidence that use of an N95 respirator provides improved protection over a surgical mask, CDC is recommending all healthcare workers entering the room of a patient with influenza wear an N95 or equivalent respirator and be fit tested. Isolation precautions should be continued for 7 days or until symptoms resolve, whichever is longer. Healthcare workers in high risk categories should consider temporary reassignment, or if this is not possible, the use of a respirator. If a healthcare worker shows signs and symptoms of ILI, they should self-isolate at home and not return to work for 7 days or until symptoms resolve, whichever is longer (CDC Infection Control Guidelines).
Self-Isolation of Ill Persons with ILI:
Persons with ILI suspected of having influenza should self-isolate at home. They should separate themselves from other members of the household, particularly those at risk of developing complications of influenza, such as: infants under 6 months of age, the elderly, and those with comorbidities such as cardiopulmonary disease, diabetes, or immunosuppression. They should not return to work or school until 24 hours after resolution of fever or symptoms, whichever is longer. This is a change from the initial recommendation to stay away from others for 7 days (CDC Home Care Guidance) (CDC Exclusion Guidelines).
Use of Masks in the Non-Healthcare Setting:
For persons ill with confirmed, probable or suspected novel A (H1N1) (in the event of a pandemic, anyone with ILI), self isolation at home is recommended. Ill persons should stay at least 6 feet away from healthy individuals. Where this is not possible and in common areas of the home, the person should wear a facemask if tolerable, or tissue to cover their cough and sneeze. Persons at increased risk of severe illness due to influenza should avoid being the caregiver to a person with ILI. If unavoidable, they should consider the use of a facemask or respirator. Otherwise, routine use of masks by household contacts is not recommended.
For non-healthcare occupational settings, facemasks and respirators are not generally recommended, although they can be considered in those at risk of severe influenza where temporary reassignment is not possible (CDC Mask Recommendations).
Preparedness for H1N1:
United States: pandemicflu.gov
International: WHO Pandemic Preparedness
Resources:
• Updates:
CDC International Situation Update
CDC Situation Update
• Guidance: CDC H1N1 Guidance
References:
H1N1 General Information
CDC Interim Guidance on Antiviral Recommendations for Patients with Novel Influenza A (H1N1) Virus Infection and Their Close Contacts
Dawood FS, Jain S, Finelli L, et al. Emergence of a Novel Swine-Origin Influenza A (H1N1) Virus in Humans. NEJM 2009; 361:1-10.
Fiore AE. Shay DK. Broder K, et al. Prevention and Control of Seasonal Influenza with Vaccines: Recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. MMWR 2009: (58 Early Release): 1-52.
Dharan NJ, Gubavera LV, Meyer JJ, et al. Olsetamivir Working Group. Infections with Olsetamivir-Resistant Influenza A (H1N1) Virus in the United States. JAMA 2009; 301 (10): 1034-41.
About the Author:
Larissa May, M.D., M.S.P.H.
Associate Director of Clinical Research
Assistant Professor, Emergency Medicine,Microbiology, and Epidemiology
Co-director, MS in Public Health Microbiology and Emerging Infectious Diseases
The George Washington University
Washington, D.C.
***All recommendations are based on CDC and WHO guidelines and are based on the current relatively mild disease noted in patients in the developed world. These recommendations are subject to ongoing review and change. In the event of increased virulence of the novel A (H1N1) strain, or changes in morbidity and mortality, or regional variations in pattern of disease, recommendations are likely to change.***
Clinical Features:
Novel Influenza A (H1N1) presents in a similar fashion to seasonal influenza. Symptoms include fever, cough, sore throat, nasal congestion, myalgias, headache, chills, and fatigue/malaise. 25% of persons, including adults, may have GI-related symptoms, including vomiting and diarrhea (CDC, 2009) (Dawood F et al, 2009).
Diagnosis:
Clinicians should consider testing persons with ILI who are severely ill or at risk of influenza-related complications. In the event of a pandemic, the diagnosis of influenza will typically be made clinically by the treating provider, and most information on viral strains will be available through laboratory-based surveillance mechanisms. CDC is no longer recommending testing of all persons with suspected influenza infection.
Vaccination:
Seasonal Influenza:
This year, the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) has extended the recommendations for annual seasonal influenza vaccination to include those individuals 6 months to 18 years of age, in addition to the traditional target groups:
• Healthcare workers
• Individuals greater than 65 years of age
• Individuals with comorbidities such as asthma, cardiopulmonary disease, chronic neurological issues, and immune suppression.
(CDC ACIP, 2009)
Novel A (H1N1) Influenza:
While a novel Influenza A (H1N1) vaccine is currently undergoing clinical trials, the expected dates for distribution are unknown due to uncertainty in clinical trial completion dates and time required for manufacture. In the event of a pandemic due to the novel Influenza A (H1N1) strain, in the United States it is likely the vaccine will be distributed via public health authorities through special allocation. Requirements for vaccine administration are yet to be finalized regarding the possibility of concurrent administration of seasonal and H1N1 vaccines and number of doses required. The ACIP is expected to revise their recommendations before the 2009-2010 influenza season. Currently, in terms of prioritization, the focus is on schools grades K-12, pregnant women, children 6 months to age 4, household contacts of infants less than 6 months, those under 65 at risk for severe influenza, and health care workers and first responders (CDC, 2009).
Treatment Recommendations:
Persons at risk are:
• Children younger than 5
• Persons aged 65 or older
• Children and young adults under 18 on long term aspirin therapy
• Pregnant women, adults and children with asthma
• Chronic pulmonary, cardiovascular, hepatic, hematologic, neurologic/neuromusuclar or metabolic disorders including diabetes)
• Adults and children with immunosuppression (includes HIV and immune suppressive medications)
• Residents of nursing homes or other long term care facilities.
Antiviral Medications:
According to the CDC, antiviral medications with activity against influenza are useful adjuncts in the prevention and early treatment of influenza (CDC ACIP, 2009).
Four antiviral agents are currently FDA licensed: amantadine, rimantadine, zanamivir, and olsetamivir. During the 2007-2008 and 2008-2009 influenza seasons, influenza A (H1N1) viruses with a mutation conferring resistance to olsetamavir commonplace in United States (99% resistance rate) and other countries (Lackenby et al, 2008; Meijia et al, 2009; WHO, 2009, CDC, 2008). However, the novel A (H1N1) strain has shown susceptibility to olsetamivir (Dharan et al, 2009).
During the novel A (H1N1) outbreak in May 2009, CDC published interim guidelines for treatment and prophylaxis of influenza in patients diagnosed with the novel H1N1 virus (CDC H1N1 Recommentations).
These guidelines recommend that all hospitalized patients with confirmed, probable or suspected H1N1 and persons at high risk for complications be treated with antiviral agents. Clinical judgment should be reserved for others on a case by case basis. Either olsetamivir or zanamivir may be used for treatment or prophylaxis. Chemoprophylaxis is recommended for close contacts of influenza cases who are at high risk, including healthcare workers, first responders and public health workers. Post exposure prophylaxis should be continued for ten days beyond the date of last exposure. Pre-exposure prophylaxis can be considered for persons at high risk who cannot avoid contact with an individual with influenza, i.e. caregivers of persons with influenza who are in high-risk categories. For ongoing occupational risk, temporary reassignment for persons at risk is recommended, or the use of personal protective equipment where exposure cannot be avoided. Consultation with local public health and medical experts is recommended (CDC, 2009).
Infection Control in Healthcare Settings:
CDC guidelines for contact and droplet precautions should be followed. Routine cleaning and disinfection protocols should be followed. In the event that a high risk procedure is undertaken (i.e. elective intubation, aerosol generating procedures such as the administration of nebulized medications, etc), airborne isolation in a negative pressure room with 6 to 12 air changes per hour should be instituted. If patients must be transported outside the room, a surgical mask should be placed on the patient. Although there is little evidence that use of an N95 respirator provides improved protection over a surgical mask, CDC is recommending all healthcare workers entering the room of a patient with influenza wear an N95 or equivalent respirator and be fit tested. Isolation precautions should be continued for 7 days or until symptoms resolve, whichever is longer. Healthcare workers in high risk categories should consider temporary reassignment, or if this is not possible, the use of a respirator. If a healthcare worker shows signs and symptoms of ILI, they should self-isolate at home and not return to work for 7 days or until symptoms resolve, whichever is longer (CDC Infection Control Guidelines).
Self-Isolation of Ill Persons with ILI:
Persons with ILI suspected of having influenza should self-isolate at home. They should separate themselves from other members of the household, particularly those at risk of developing complications of influenza, such as: infants under 6 months of age, the elderly, and those with comorbidities such as cardiopulmonary disease, diabetes, or immunosuppression. They should not return to work or school until 24 hours after resolution of fever or symptoms, whichever is longer. This is a change from the initial recommendation to stay away from others for 7 days (CDC Home Care Guidance) (CDC Exclusion Guidelines).
Use of Masks in the Non-Healthcare Setting:
For persons ill with confirmed, probable or suspected novel A (H1N1) (in the event of a pandemic, anyone with ILI), self isolation at home is recommended. Ill persons should stay at least 6 feet away from healthy individuals. Where this is not possible and in common areas of the home, the person should wear a facemask if tolerable, or tissue to cover their cough and sneeze. Persons at increased risk of severe illness due to influenza should avoid being the caregiver to a person with ILI. If unavoidable, they should consider the use of a facemask or respirator. Otherwise, routine use of masks by household contacts is not recommended.
For non-healthcare occupational settings, facemasks and respirators are not generally recommended, although they can be considered in those at risk of severe influenza where temporary reassignment is not possible (CDC Mask Recommendations).
Preparedness for H1N1:
United States: pandemicflu.gov
International: WHO Pandemic Preparedness
Resources:
• Updates:
CDC International Situation Update
CDC Situation Update
• Guidance: CDC H1N1 Guidance
References:
H1N1 General Information
CDC Interim Guidance on Antiviral Recommendations for Patients with Novel Influenza A (H1N1) Virus Infection and Their Close Contacts
Dawood FS, Jain S, Finelli L, et al. Emergence of a Novel Swine-Origin Influenza A (H1N1) Virus in Humans. NEJM 2009; 361:1-10.
Fiore AE. Shay DK. Broder K, et al. Prevention and Control of Seasonal Influenza with Vaccines: Recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. MMWR 2009: (58 Early Release): 1-52.
Dharan NJ, Gubavera LV, Meyer JJ, et al. Olsetamivir Working Group. Infections with Olsetamivir-Resistant Influenza A (H1N1) Virus in the United States. JAMA 2009; 301 (10): 1034-41.
About the Author:
Larissa May, M.D., M.S.P.H.
Associate Director of Clinical Research
Assistant Professor, Emergency Medicine,Microbiology, and Epidemiology
Co-director, MS in Public Health Microbiology and Emerging Infectious Diseases
The George Washington University
Washington, D.C.
28 August 2009
EDDP 2010: Of Special Interest to European ISDS Members
View Flyer
EDDP 2010
Join us in Munich, Germany from February 25 – 28, 2010
for the International Conference on Early Disease Detection and Prevention
We are delighted to announce the launch of the Preliminary Program.
Abstract submission deadline is September 15, 2009.
Submit your abstract now – don't miss out !!!
We are proud to present the EDDP 2010 committee members
For further information click here.
Chairman:
Yoram Yagil
Co-Chairpersons:
George Bakris
Hermann Haller
Reuven Zimlichman
Steering Committee:
Mark Cooper, Daniel Duprez, Harlambos Gavras, Pavel Hamet, Doron Lancet, Friedrich C Luft
Scientific Committees:
Cardiac Disease:
Enrico Agabiti Rosei, Daniel Duprez, Anthony Heagerty, Amos Katz, Sverre Kjeldsen,
John Lekakis, Athanasios Manolis, Robert Phillips, Ton Rabelink, Reuven Zimlichman
Hypertension:
George Bakris, Michael Burzstyn, Arun Chockalingham, Carlos Ferrario,
Haralambos Gavras, Pavel Hamet, Lawrence Krakoff, Friedrich C Luft, Ernesto Schiffrin
Renal Disease:
Lise Bankir, Hermann Haller, Reinhold Kreutz,
Friedrich C Luft, Steve Scheinman , Joshua Weissgarten
Diabetes and Metabolism:
Mark E Cooper,Nish Chaturvedi, Youfei Guan, Peter Rossing, James Sowers, Sho-ichi Yamagishi
Health Policy:
Arun Chockalingham, Moshe Leshno, Uwe Siebert
For further information visit us at:
www.paragon-conventions.com/eddp2010
Paragon Conventions
18 Avenue Louis-Casai, 1209 Geneva, Switzerland
Tel: +41-22-5330-948, Fax: +41-22-5802-953
eddp2010-at-paragon-conventions.com
EDDP 2010
Join us in Munich, Germany from February 25 – 28, 2010
for the International Conference on Early Disease Detection and Prevention
We are delighted to announce the launch of the Preliminary Program.
Abstract submission deadline is September 15, 2009.
Submit your abstract now – don't miss out !!!
We are proud to present the EDDP 2010 committee members
For further information click here.
Chairman:
Yoram Yagil
Co-Chairpersons:
George Bakris
Hermann Haller
Reuven Zimlichman
Steering Committee:
Mark Cooper, Daniel Duprez, Harlambos Gavras, Pavel Hamet, Doron Lancet, Friedrich C Luft
Scientific Committees:
Cardiac Disease:
Enrico Agabiti Rosei, Daniel Duprez, Anthony Heagerty, Amos Katz, Sverre Kjeldsen,
John Lekakis, Athanasios Manolis, Robert Phillips, Ton Rabelink, Reuven Zimlichman
Hypertension:
George Bakris, Michael Burzstyn, Arun Chockalingham, Carlos Ferrario,
Haralambos Gavras, Pavel Hamet, Lawrence Krakoff, Friedrich C Luft, Ernesto Schiffrin
Renal Disease:
Lise Bankir, Hermann Haller, Reinhold Kreutz,
Friedrich C Luft, Steve Scheinman , Joshua Weissgarten
Diabetes and Metabolism:
Mark E Cooper,Nish Chaturvedi, Youfei Guan, Peter Rossing, James Sowers, Sho-ichi Yamagishi
Health Policy:
Arun Chockalingham, Moshe Leshno, Uwe Siebert
For further information visit us at:
www.paragon-conventions.com/eddp2010
Paragon Conventions
18 Avenue Louis-Casai, 1209 Geneva, Switzerland
Tel: +41-22-5330-948, Fax: +41-22-5802-953
eddp2010-at-paragon-conventions.com
27 August 2009
August Literature Summaries Now Available
The summaries from the August Literature Review are now available on the ISDS wiki.
*Please note that the Literature Reviews have switched to a bi-monthly schedule. The latest articles collected in the Research Committee's article search will continue to be posted monthly, however.
The next Literature Review call will be taking place on Thursday, October 29th at 10:00 am EST.
*Please note that the Literature Reviews have switched to a bi-monthly schedule. The latest articles collected in the Research Committee's article search will continue to be posted monthly, however.
The next Literature Review call will be taking place on Thursday, October 29th at 10:00 am EST.
26 August 2009
Job Opening: Senior Project Manager -- DiSTRIBuTE Project
Overview
The mission of the International Society for Disease Surveillance (ISDS) is to improve population health by advancing the field of disease surveillance. The Society provides an educational and scientific forum to explore and address population health monitoring across institutional and professional boundaries. The DiSTRIBuTE project was developed by ISDS members as a distributed, influenza surveillance system. DiSTRIBuTE uses aggregate, influenza like illness (ILI), emergency department data from existing syndromic surveillance systems developed by state and local public health departments.
ISDS is seeking an experienced Sr. Project Manager for a grant-funded project that could develop into a longer term opportunity, based on performance and future funding. The DiSTRIBuTE Sr. Project Manager, reporting directly to the President of the ISDS Board of Directors, will work with the Scientific Director and other members of the project team, including members of the Public Health Informatics Institute (PHII) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to recruit, enroll and coordinate the rapid expansion of the DiSTRIBuTE community of practice to improve the timeliness, availability and accessibility of syndromic surveillance information related to H1N1 influenza cases and outbreaks in the United States. The DiSTRIBuTE Sr. Project Manager will be accountable for the rapid expansion of a large scale, complex, national flu surveillance project in conjunction with ISDS, PHII and CDC, on time, on budget and across all national, state and local jurisdictions.
Job Description
The Sr. Project Manager will have excellent relationship-building skills, as well as strong leadership and team management capabilities, to lead a diverse and dynamic team in the successful delivery of this complex, integrated project. This role requires deep understanding of project management methodologies, tools and approaches to effectively manage a complex, multi-disciplinary project. The Sr. Project Manager will report directly to the President of the ISDS.
Duties
• Provide project management for a large-scale, national, multi-customer, multi-vendor and multi-partner project including:
• Develop project goals, timelines and deliverables, integrated project plans, key roles and responsibilities.
• Manage complete project development and implementation life-cycle and ensure that goals are met.
• Matrix manage/coordinate internal and external resources to meet objectives.
• Manage relationships with sites, subcontracts, partners and sponsors.
• Provide internal/external status reports and project dashboards.
• Manage, with the ISDS Board President, project governance including Advisory Committee, Project Committee, Community of Practice and stakeholder meetings.
• Facilitate goals/priorities/decision making and escalate to advisory board and sponsors as necessary.
• Communicate with and influence internal and external stakeholders regarding key project objectives and steps to ensure buy-in.
• Create and ratify project quality/performance standards and report relevant metrics.
• Supervisory responsibility for project staff including both direct reports and subcontracted staff.
• Provide guidance to subcontract sites and staff around achievement of goals and deliverables (matrix and direct reporting).
• Act as central coordinator for project team.
• Address/resolve interpersonal or team dynamic concerns.
• Manage staff hired by ISDS for the DiSTRIBuTE project.
Skills
Highly organized and self-directed with ability to work with minimal supervision; detail oriented with no loss of big-picture objectives; results oriented, a fast learner and accepting of change; ability to prioritize and multi-task effectively; excellent written/verbal communication skills, with exceptional presentation abilities to senior management and other key stakeholders; ability to work in a time-sensitive, deadline driven, political environment; expert knowledge of the key components of project management (e.g., scope, time, cost, quality, human resources, communication, risk, integration),
Experience
5-7 years experience in a project manager role leading complex, geographically distributed, technical/public health initiatives. Successful track record in completing projects on time and on budget working with senior level professionals from multiple disciplines and diverse stakeholder groups. Strong knowledge of MS tools including Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Visio and Project. Bachelor’s degree or equivalent, Master’s in Public Health, Healthcare or Public Administration or Business preferred. Project management certification (e.g. PMI, PMP) highly preferred. Healthcare or Public Health experience required.
How to Apply
Resumes should be sent to: Barbara Honthumb, Sr. Consultant Finance and Planning, Tufts Health Care Institute (THCI)
The mission of the International Society for Disease Surveillance (ISDS) is to improve population health by advancing the field of disease surveillance. The Society provides an educational and scientific forum to explore and address population health monitoring across institutional and professional boundaries. The DiSTRIBuTE project was developed by ISDS members as a distributed, influenza surveillance system. DiSTRIBuTE uses aggregate, influenza like illness (ILI), emergency department data from existing syndromic surveillance systems developed by state and local public health departments.
ISDS is seeking an experienced Sr. Project Manager for a grant-funded project that could develop into a longer term opportunity, based on performance and future funding. The DiSTRIBuTE Sr. Project Manager, reporting directly to the President of the ISDS Board of Directors, will work with the Scientific Director and other members of the project team, including members of the Public Health Informatics Institute (PHII) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to recruit, enroll and coordinate the rapid expansion of the DiSTRIBuTE community of practice to improve the timeliness, availability and accessibility of syndromic surveillance information related to H1N1 influenza cases and outbreaks in the United States. The DiSTRIBuTE Sr. Project Manager will be accountable for the rapid expansion of a large scale, complex, national flu surveillance project in conjunction with ISDS, PHII and CDC, on time, on budget and across all national, state and local jurisdictions.
Job Description
The Sr. Project Manager will have excellent relationship-building skills, as well as strong leadership and team management capabilities, to lead a diverse and dynamic team in the successful delivery of this complex, integrated project. This role requires deep understanding of project management methodologies, tools and approaches to effectively manage a complex, multi-disciplinary project. The Sr. Project Manager will report directly to the President of the ISDS.
Duties
• Provide project management for a large-scale, national, multi-customer, multi-vendor and multi-partner project including:
• Develop project goals, timelines and deliverables, integrated project plans, key roles and responsibilities.
• Manage complete project development and implementation life-cycle and ensure that goals are met.
• Matrix manage/coordinate internal and external resources to meet objectives.
• Manage relationships with sites, subcontracts, partners and sponsors.
• Provide internal/external status reports and project dashboards.
• Manage, with the ISDS Board President, project governance including Advisory Committee, Project Committee, Community of Practice and stakeholder meetings.
• Facilitate goals/priorities/decision making and escalate to advisory board and sponsors as necessary.
• Communicate with and influence internal and external stakeholders regarding key project objectives and steps to ensure buy-in.
• Create and ratify project quality/performance standards and report relevant metrics.
• Supervisory responsibility for project staff including both direct reports and subcontracted staff.
• Provide guidance to subcontract sites and staff around achievement of goals and deliverables (matrix and direct reporting).
• Act as central coordinator for project team.
• Address/resolve interpersonal or team dynamic concerns.
• Manage staff hired by ISDS for the DiSTRIBuTE project.
Skills
Highly organized and self-directed with ability to work with minimal supervision; detail oriented with no loss of big-picture objectives; results oriented, a fast learner and accepting of change; ability to prioritize and multi-task effectively; excellent written/verbal communication skills, with exceptional presentation abilities to senior management and other key stakeholders; ability to work in a time-sensitive, deadline driven, political environment; expert knowledge of the key components of project management (e.g., scope, time, cost, quality, human resources, communication, risk, integration),
Experience
5-7 years experience in a project manager role leading complex, geographically distributed, technical/public health initiatives. Successful track record in completing projects on time and on budget working with senior level professionals from multiple disciplines and diverse stakeholder groups. Strong knowledge of MS tools including Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Visio and Project. Bachelor’s degree or equivalent, Master’s in Public Health, Healthcare or Public Administration or Business preferred. Project management certification (e.g. PMI, PMP) highly preferred. Healthcare or Public Health experience required.
How to Apply
Resumes should be sent to: Barbara Honthumb, Sr. Consultant Finance and Planning, Tufts Health Care Institute (THCI)
Job Opening: Community of Practice Coordinator -- DiSTRIBuTE Project
Overview
The mission of the International Society for Disease Surveillance (ISDS) is to improve population health by advancing the field of disease surveillance. The Society provides an educational and scientific forum to explore and address population health monitoring across institutional and professional boundaries. The DiSTRIBuTE project was developed by ISDS members as a distributed, influenza surveillance system. DiSTRIBuTE uses aggregate, influenza like illness (ILI) emergency department data from existing syndromic surveillance systems developed by state and local public health departments.
ISDS is seeking an experienced public health professional for a grant-funded project that could develop into a longer term opportunity, based on performance and future funding. The DiSTRIBuTE Community of Practice Coordinator (CoP Coordinator), working under the direction of the Sr. Project Manager and in collaboration with the Scientific Director and other members of the project team, will be responsible for recruiting, enrolling and facilitating the rapid expansion of the DiSTRIBuTE Community of Practice. Currently the DiSTRIBuTE Community of Practice is a 10 site proof-of-concept project which will expand nation-wide to improve the timeliness, availability and accessibility of syndromic surveillance information related to H1N1 influenza cases and outbreaks in the United States.
Job Description
The CoP Coordinator will have excellent group facilitation and meeting coordination skills, as well as strong communications and organizational capabilities, to coordinate the rapid expansion of a diverse and dynamic, geographically dispersed DiSTRIBuTE Community of Practice (CoP). This person will ideally have close working relationships within the public health surveillance community and will be highly motivated to ensure that the DiSTRIBuTE CoP succeeds in meeting project goals. The CoP Coordinator will champion the CoP’s success in developing a national, distributed influenza surveillance system and work with the Sr. Project Manager, Scientific Director and others to ensure that communications about the project flow to and from participating sites to the sponsors, stakeholders and other DiSTRIBuTE team members. Other duties may include: providing perspectives and resources to participating DiSTRIBuTE sites; periodically reviewing progress and developmental needs of current and future sites; ensuring that data submission and reporting needs of sites are met; troubleshooting data collection and submission problems in collaboration with the DiSTRIBuTE Technical Site Liaisons; and building collaborative relationships with officials and sponsors from other national, state and local agencies. The CoP Coordinator will report directly to the Sr. Project Manager with a matrix reporting relationship to the Scientific Director.
Duties
• Develop documents to be used to recruite new sites that communicate the Federal/State/Local plans for summarized ILI surveilance and the importance of participation in the DiSTRIBuTE CoP.
• Work the DiSTRIBuTE Public Health Site Liaisons to recruit sites into the DiSTRIBuTE CoP and facilitiate connection with DiSTRIBuTE Technical Site Liasions to establish and maintain the collection and submission of data to the DiSTRIBuTE website.
• Support new and existing DiSTRIBuTE CoP sites.
• Moderate CoP discussion web group, manage two-way social media conversations.
• Organize and run meetings weekly webinar/conference calls; ensure that meetings stay on track, and that meeting goals are accomplished.
• Organize community documents (charter, agendas, meeting minutes, etc.) and produce weekly, monthly, quarterly and annual reports and post to the DiSTRIBuTE website as appropriate.
• With the Sr. Project Manager, Scientific Director and others, manage effective distribution of the CoP’s messages and findings to users, working group members and stakeholders.
Skills
Highly organized and self-directed with ability to work with minimal supervision; excellent people and team building skills; detail- and results-oriented, a fast learner and flexible; ability to prioritize and multi-task effectively; excellent written/verbal communication skills, ability to work in a time-sensitive, deadline driven, political environment. Extensive travel may be required in early stages of the project.
Experience
A minimum of 5 years experience in public health ideally working within a local health department on planning or training projects. Strong knowledge of MS tools including Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. Familiarity with and experience managing virtual and face-to-face meetings and communitications including email, conference calling, webinars, bulletin boards and blogs. Bachelor’s degree or equivalent, Master’s in Public Health preferred.
How to Apply
Resumes should be sent to: Barbara Honthumb, Sr. Consultant Finance and Planning, Tufts Health Care Institute (THCI)
The mission of the International Society for Disease Surveillance (ISDS) is to improve population health by advancing the field of disease surveillance. The Society provides an educational and scientific forum to explore and address population health monitoring across institutional and professional boundaries. The DiSTRIBuTE project was developed by ISDS members as a distributed, influenza surveillance system. DiSTRIBuTE uses aggregate, influenza like illness (ILI) emergency department data from existing syndromic surveillance systems developed by state and local public health departments.
ISDS is seeking an experienced public health professional for a grant-funded project that could develop into a longer term opportunity, based on performance and future funding. The DiSTRIBuTE Community of Practice Coordinator (CoP Coordinator), working under the direction of the Sr. Project Manager and in collaboration with the Scientific Director and other members of the project team, will be responsible for recruiting, enrolling and facilitating the rapid expansion of the DiSTRIBuTE Community of Practice. Currently the DiSTRIBuTE Community of Practice is a 10 site proof-of-concept project which will expand nation-wide to improve the timeliness, availability and accessibility of syndromic surveillance information related to H1N1 influenza cases and outbreaks in the United States.
Job Description
The CoP Coordinator will have excellent group facilitation and meeting coordination skills, as well as strong communications and organizational capabilities, to coordinate the rapid expansion of a diverse and dynamic, geographically dispersed DiSTRIBuTE Community of Practice (CoP). This person will ideally have close working relationships within the public health surveillance community and will be highly motivated to ensure that the DiSTRIBuTE CoP succeeds in meeting project goals. The CoP Coordinator will champion the CoP’s success in developing a national, distributed influenza surveillance system and work with the Sr. Project Manager, Scientific Director and others to ensure that communications about the project flow to and from participating sites to the sponsors, stakeholders and other DiSTRIBuTE team members. Other duties may include: providing perspectives and resources to participating DiSTRIBuTE sites; periodically reviewing progress and developmental needs of current and future sites; ensuring that data submission and reporting needs of sites are met; troubleshooting data collection and submission problems in collaboration with the DiSTRIBuTE Technical Site Liaisons; and building collaborative relationships with officials and sponsors from other national, state and local agencies. The CoP Coordinator will report directly to the Sr. Project Manager with a matrix reporting relationship to the Scientific Director.
Duties
• Develop documents to be used to recruite new sites that communicate the Federal/State/Local plans for summarized ILI surveilance and the importance of participation in the DiSTRIBuTE CoP.
• Work the DiSTRIBuTE Public Health Site Liaisons to recruit sites into the DiSTRIBuTE CoP and facilitiate connection with DiSTRIBuTE Technical Site Liasions to establish and maintain the collection and submission of data to the DiSTRIBuTE website.
• Support new and existing DiSTRIBuTE CoP sites.
• Moderate CoP discussion web group, manage two-way social media conversations.
• Organize and run meetings weekly webinar/conference calls; ensure that meetings stay on track, and that meeting goals are accomplished.
• Organize community documents (charter, agendas, meeting minutes, etc.) and produce weekly, monthly, quarterly and annual reports and post to the DiSTRIBuTE website as appropriate.
• With the Sr. Project Manager, Scientific Director and others, manage effective distribution of the CoP’s messages and findings to users, working group members and stakeholders.
Skills
Highly organized and self-directed with ability to work with minimal supervision; excellent people and team building skills; detail- and results-oriented, a fast learner and flexible; ability to prioritize and multi-task effectively; excellent written/verbal communication skills, ability to work in a time-sensitive, deadline driven, political environment. Extensive travel may be required in early stages of the project.
Experience
A minimum of 5 years experience in public health ideally working within a local health department on planning or training projects. Strong knowledge of MS tools including Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. Familiarity with and experience managing virtual and face-to-face meetings and communitications including email, conference calling, webinars, bulletin boards and blogs. Bachelor’s degree or equivalent, Master’s in Public Health preferred.
How to Apply
Resumes should be sent to: Barbara Honthumb, Sr. Consultant Finance and Planning, Tufts Health Care Institute (THCI)
24 August 2009
August Public Health Practice Committee Meeting
When: Monday August 24, 2009 12 Noon EDT
Agenda:
1. Welcome
2. ISDS Updates
Rachel Viola, ISDS Project Manager
Julia E. Gunn, RN, MPH (ISDS Board Representative)
3. ISDS Funding & DiSTRIBuTE Project Updates
Don Olson, ISDS Research Director
4. Regional & Local School Surveillance - Rockland County, NY
E. Oscar Alleyne, MPH
County Epidemiologist
Rockland County Department of Health
Slides
5. 25 Years of School Surveillance - Dutchess County, NY
Andrew Sherman Rotans, MPH
Senior Public Health Advisor
Dutchess County Department of Health
6. School Surveillance: ILI Definitions and Signal Response
Lisa McHugh, MPH
Influenza Surveillance Coordinator
New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services
7. Update on New CDC Guidelines for State & Local Novel flu A (H1N1) Surveillance: Comparing Advanced Surveillance to Laboratory Testing
8. Next Meeting: Monday September 28, 2009; 12 Noon EDT
*Please contact Rachel Viola and Alan Siniscalchi (PHPC Chair) if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions for the agenda at: rviola-at-syndromic.org
Agenda:
1. Welcome
2. ISDS Updates
Rachel Viola, ISDS Project Manager
Julia E. Gunn, RN, MPH (ISDS Board Representative)
3. ISDS Funding & DiSTRIBuTE Project Updates
Don Olson, ISDS Research Director
4. Regional & Local School Surveillance - Rockland County, NY
E. Oscar Alleyne, MPH
County Epidemiologist
Rockland County Department of Health
Slides
5. 25 Years of School Surveillance - Dutchess County, NY
Andrew Sherman Rotans, MPH
Senior Public Health Advisor
Dutchess County Department of Health
6. School Surveillance: ILI Definitions and Signal Response
Lisa McHugh, MPH
Influenza Surveillance Coordinator
New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services
7. Update on New CDC Guidelines for State & Local Novel flu A (H1N1) Surveillance: Comparing Advanced Surveillance to Laboratory Testing
8. Next Meeting: Monday September 28, 2009; 12 Noon EDT
*Please contact Rachel Viola and Alan Siniscalchi (PHPC Chair) if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions for the agenda at: rviola-at-syndromic.org
13 August 2009
Articles for August Literature Review
The ISDS Research Committee is now accepting submissions for its August Literature Review, which will be taking place on Thursday, August 27th at 10:00 am EDT.
This file gathers recent selections from our PubCrawler search; several articles concern the H1N1 threat. Articles are cited at the end of this email; should you need to download any of them, please inquire about gaining access to the Research Committee's gmail account.
Please email your input on any selected articles by August 26 to: rviola-at-syndromic.org.
----------------------------------------------------------------
Kelley PW.
A commentary on the military role in global influenza surveillance.
Am J Prev Med. 2009 Sep;37(3):260-1.
Owens AB, Canas LC, Russell KL, Neville JS, Pavlin JA, MacIntosh VH, Gray GC, Gaydos JC.
Department of Defense Global Laboratory-Based Influenza Surveillance: 1998-2005.
Am J Prev Med. 2009 Sep;37(3):235-41.
Watkins RE, Eagleson S, Veenendaal B, Wright G, Plant AJ.
Disease surveillance using a hidden Markov model.
BMC Med Inform Decis Mak. 2009 Aug 10;9(1):39. [Epub ahead of print]
O'neill PD.
Bayesian inference for stochastic multitype epidemics in structured populations using sample data. Biostatistics. 2009 Jul 31.
Buehler JW, Whitney EA, Smith D, Prietula MJ, Stanton SH, Isakov AP.
Situational Uses of Syndromic Surveillance.
Biosecur Bioterror. 2009 Jun;7(2):165-177.
McLeod M, Mason K, White P, Read D.
The 2005 Wellington influenza outbreak: syndromic surveillance of Wellington Hospital Emergency Department activity may have provided early warning.
Aust N Z J Public Health. 2009 Jun;33(3):289-94.
Xing J, Burkom H, Moniz L, Edgerton J, Leuze M, Tokars J.
Evaluation of sliding baseline methods for spatial estimation for cluster detection in the biosurveillance system. Int J Health Geogr. 2009 Jul 17;8(1):45.
May L, Chretien JP, Pavlin JA.
Beyond traditional surveillance: applying syndromic surveillance to developing settings--opportunities and challenges. BMC Public Health. 2009 Jul 16;9(1):242.
Bilancia M, Fedespina A.
Geographical clustering of lung cancer in the province of Lecce, Italy: 1992-2001.
Int J Health Geogr. 2009 Jul 1;8(1):40.
Tang XY, Huang TR, Zhu XD, Hu MQ, Xu J, Zhou HX.
[Using spatial autocorrelation analysis to study spatial heterogeneity of liver cancer in Guangxi]
Wang XL, Wang QY, Liu DL, Zeng DJ, Cheng H, Li S, Duan W, Li XY, Luan RS, He X.
[Comparison between early outbreak detection models and simulated outbreaks of measles in Beijing] Zhonghua Liu Xing Bing Xue Za Zhi. 2009 Feb;30(2):159-62. Chinese.
Chu AF, Marcus SM, Ruck B.
Poison control centers' role in glow product-related outbreak detection: implications for comprehensive surveillance system.
Prehosp Disaster Med. 2009 Jan-Feb;24(1):68-72.
Hanshaoworakul W, Simmerman JM, Narueponjirakul U, Sanasuttipun W, Shinde V, Kaewchana S, Areechokechai D, Levy J, Ungchusak K.
Severe human influenza infections in Thailand: oseltamivir treatment and risk factors for fatal outcome, PLoS One. 2009 Jun 25;4(6):e6051.
Liu J, Bi Y, Qin K, Fu G, Yang J, Peng J, Ma G, Liu Q, Pu J, Tian F.\
Emergence of European avian-like H1N1 Swine Influenza A Viruses in China.
J Clin Microbiol. 2009 Jun 24
Touch S, Grundy J, Hills S, Rani M, Samnang C, Khalakdina A, Jacobson J.
The rationale for integrated childhood meningoencephalitis surveillance: a case study from Cambodia, Bull World Health Organ. 2009 Apr;87(4):320-4.
Chretien JP, Tomich NE, Gaydos JC, Kelley PW.
Real-Time Public Health Surveillance for Emergency Preparedness.
Am J Public Health. 2009 Jun 18.
D'Ortenzio E, Do C, Renault P, Weber F, Filleul L.
Enhanced influenza surveillance on Réunion Island (southern hemisphere) in the context of the emergence of influenza A(H1N1)v.
Euro Surveill. 2009 Jun 11;14(23):19239.
Pan K, Deem MW.
Comment on Ndifon et al., "On the use of hemagglutination-inhibition for influenza surveillance: Surveillance data are predictive of influenza vaccine effectiveness"
Vaccine. 2009 Jun 11.
Ohkusa Y, Yamaguchi R, Sugiura H, Sugawara T, Yoshida M, Shimada C, Hori N, Sugishita Y, Yasui Y, Sunagawa T, Matsui T, Taniguchi K, Tada Y, Taya K, Imamura T, Okabe N.
[2008 G8 Hokkaido Toyako Summit Meeting Syndrome Surveillance]
Kansenshogaku Zasshi. 2009 May;83(3):236-44. Japanese.
van Asten L, van der Lubben M, van den Wijngaard C, van Pelt W, Verheij R, Jacobi A, Overduin P, Meijer A, Luijt D, Claas E, Hermans M, Melchers W, Rossen J, Schuurman R, Wolffs P, Bouchier C, Schirm J, Kroes L, Leenders S, Galama J, Peeters M, van Loon A, Stobberingh E, Schutten M, D V M MK.
Strengthening the diagnostic capacity to detect Bio Safety Level 3 organisms in unusual respiratory viral outbreaks.
J Clin Virol. 2009 Jun 6.
Levy PP, Valleron AJ.
Toward unsupervised outbreak detection through visual perception of new patterns.
BMC Public Health. 2009 Jun 10;9(1):179. [Epub ahead of print]
Uscher-Pines L, Farrell CL, Babin SM, Cattani J, Gaydos CA, Hsieh YH, Moskal MD, Rothman RE.
Framework for the development of response protocols for public health syndromic surveillance systems: case studies of 8 US states.
Disaster Med Public Health Prep. 2009 Jun;3(2 Suppl):S29-36.
This file gathers recent selections from our PubCrawler search; several articles concern the H1N1 threat. Articles are cited at the end of this email; should you need to download any of them, please inquire about gaining access to the Research Committee's gmail account.
Please email your input on any selected articles by August 26 to: rviola-at-syndromic.org.
----------------------------------------------------------------
Kelley PW.
A commentary on the military role in global influenza surveillance.
Am J Prev Med. 2009 Sep;37(3):260-1.
Owens AB, Canas LC, Russell KL, Neville JS, Pavlin JA, MacIntosh VH, Gray GC, Gaydos JC.
Department of Defense Global Laboratory-Based Influenza Surveillance: 1998-2005.
Am J Prev Med. 2009 Sep;37(3):235-41.
Watkins RE, Eagleson S, Veenendaal B, Wright G, Plant AJ.
Disease surveillance using a hidden Markov model.
BMC Med Inform Decis Mak. 2009 Aug 10;9(1):39. [Epub ahead of print]
O'neill PD.
Bayesian inference for stochastic multitype epidemics in structured populations using sample data. Biostatistics. 2009 Jul 31.
Buehler JW, Whitney EA, Smith D, Prietula MJ, Stanton SH, Isakov AP.
Situational Uses of Syndromic Surveillance.
Biosecur Bioterror. 2009 Jun;7(2):165-177.
McLeod M, Mason K, White P, Read D.
The 2005 Wellington influenza outbreak: syndromic surveillance of Wellington Hospital Emergency Department activity may have provided early warning.
Aust N Z J Public Health. 2009 Jun;33(3):289-94.
Xing J, Burkom H, Moniz L, Edgerton J, Leuze M, Tokars J.
Evaluation of sliding baseline methods for spatial estimation for cluster detection in the biosurveillance system. Int J Health Geogr. 2009 Jul 17;8(1):45.
May L, Chretien JP, Pavlin JA.
Beyond traditional surveillance: applying syndromic surveillance to developing settings--opportunities and challenges. BMC Public Health. 2009 Jul 16;9(1):242.
Bilancia M, Fedespina A.
Geographical clustering of lung cancer in the province of Lecce, Italy: 1992-2001.
Int J Health Geogr. 2009 Jul 1;8(1):40.
Tang XY, Huang TR, Zhu XD, Hu MQ, Xu J, Zhou HX.
[Using spatial autocorrelation analysis to study spatial heterogeneity of liver cancer in Guangxi]
Wang XL, Wang QY, Liu DL, Zeng DJ, Cheng H, Li S, Duan W, Li XY, Luan RS, He X.
[Comparison between early outbreak detection models and simulated outbreaks of measles in Beijing] Zhonghua Liu Xing Bing Xue Za Zhi. 2009 Feb;30(2):159-62. Chinese.
Chu AF, Marcus SM, Ruck B.
Poison control centers' role in glow product-related outbreak detection: implications for comprehensive surveillance system.
Prehosp Disaster Med. 2009 Jan-Feb;24(1):68-72.
Hanshaoworakul W, Simmerman JM, Narueponjirakul U, Sanasuttipun W, Shinde V, Kaewchana S, Areechokechai D, Levy J, Ungchusak K.
Severe human influenza infections in Thailand: oseltamivir treatment and risk factors for fatal outcome, PLoS One. 2009 Jun 25;4(6):e6051.
Liu J, Bi Y, Qin K, Fu G, Yang J, Peng J, Ma G, Liu Q, Pu J, Tian F.\
Emergence of European avian-like H1N1 Swine Influenza A Viruses in China.
J Clin Microbiol. 2009 Jun 24
Touch S, Grundy J, Hills S, Rani M, Samnang C, Khalakdina A, Jacobson J.
The rationale for integrated childhood meningoencephalitis surveillance: a case study from Cambodia, Bull World Health Organ. 2009 Apr;87(4):320-4.
Chretien JP, Tomich NE, Gaydos JC, Kelley PW.
Real-Time Public Health Surveillance for Emergency Preparedness.
Am J Public Health. 2009 Jun 18.
D'Ortenzio E, Do C, Renault P, Weber F, Filleul L.
Enhanced influenza surveillance on Réunion Island (southern hemisphere) in the context of the emergence of influenza A(H1N1)v.
Euro Surveill. 2009 Jun 11;14(23):19239.
Pan K, Deem MW.
Comment on Ndifon et al., "On the use of hemagglutination-inhibition for influenza surveillance: Surveillance data are predictive of influenza vaccine effectiveness"
Vaccine. 2009 Jun 11.
Ohkusa Y, Yamaguchi R, Sugiura H, Sugawara T, Yoshida M, Shimada C, Hori N, Sugishita Y, Yasui Y, Sunagawa T, Matsui T, Taniguchi K, Tada Y, Taya K, Imamura T, Okabe N.
[2008 G8 Hokkaido Toyako Summit Meeting Syndrome Surveillance]
Kansenshogaku Zasshi. 2009 May;83(3):236-44. Japanese.
van Asten L, van der Lubben M, van den Wijngaard C, van Pelt W, Verheij R, Jacobi A, Overduin P, Meijer A, Luijt D, Claas E, Hermans M, Melchers W, Rossen J, Schuurman R, Wolffs P, Bouchier C, Schirm J, Kroes L, Leenders S, Galama J, Peeters M, van Loon A, Stobberingh E, Schutten M, D V M MK.
Strengthening the diagnostic capacity to detect Bio Safety Level 3 organisms in unusual respiratory viral outbreaks.
J Clin Virol. 2009 Jun 6.
Levy PP, Valleron AJ.
Toward unsupervised outbreak detection through visual perception of new patterns.
BMC Public Health. 2009 Jun 10;9(1):179. [Epub ahead of print]
Uscher-Pines L, Farrell CL, Babin SM, Cattani J, Gaydos CA, Hsieh YH, Moskal MD, Rothman RE.
Framework for the development of response protocols for public health syndromic surveillance systems: case studies of 8 US states.
Disaster Med Public Health Prep. 2009 Jun;3(2 Suppl):S29-36.
Abstract Submssion Deadline Extended
The deadline has been extended for abstract submission to the 2009 annual conference of the International Society for Disease Surveillance. Abstract submissions are now due by September 15th, 2009.
This year's conference will feature prominently innovative assessments, methods, analytic techniques and experiences related to H1N1 surveillance.
Details on abstract submission and conference registration can be found at http://thci.org/syndromic/conference2009/
This year's conference will feature prominently innovative assessments, methods, analytic techniques and experiences related to H1N1 surveillance.
Details on abstract submission and conference registration can be found at http://thci.org/syndromic/conference2009/
30 July 2009
July Global Outreach Committee Meeting
When: Thursday, July 30th at 10:00 am EDT
Agenda:
1. Influenza H1N1 'swine flu' surveillance - collection of international experience for a special edition of the Network
2. DiSTRIBuTE (Distributed Surveillance Taskforce for Real-time Influenza Burden Tracking and Evaluation) - international participation
3. International Skills Survey - feedback and next steps
4. Any other business
Discussion:
1. Special edition of "The Network" on H1N1: The Committee discussed the possibility of publishing a special edition of their newsletter, "The Network" focused on H1N1. It was decided that contributions will be added to the ISDS blog on a rolling basis, which will allow for further feedback to be solicited in the form of reader comments. The articles, along with a summary of their commentary, will then be published into the next edition of "The Network," which will hopefully be put out in the fall. The topic areas in which the Committee is accepting submissions are:
A. Schools
B. Using surveillance for planning
C. General surveillance issues
D. Background clinical/medial advice for epidemiologists - high risk groups
E. Veterinary issues/reverse zoonosis
2. Don Olson gave an update on the current status of the DiSTRIBuTE project, and called for international participation. In the coming flu season, if it continues to be funded, it is hoped that the project can be expanded to both US and international sites.
3. International Skills Survey: The survey developed for the Committee is currently being placed on hold. It is hoped that the scope survey can be extended to the entire ISDS membership. Until the necessary changes have been made and the timing has been decided, the survey will remain inactive.
Next Meeting:
Thursday, October 1st at 10:00 am EDT.
Agenda:
1. Influenza H1N1 'swine flu' surveillance - collection of international experience for a special edition of the Network
2. DiSTRIBuTE (Distributed Surveillance Taskforce for Real-time Influenza Burden Tracking and Evaluation) - international participation
3. International Skills Survey - feedback and next steps
4. Any other business
Discussion:
1. Special edition of "The Network" on H1N1: The Committee discussed the possibility of publishing a special edition of their newsletter, "The Network" focused on H1N1. It was decided that contributions will be added to the ISDS blog on a rolling basis, which will allow for further feedback to be solicited in the form of reader comments. The articles, along with a summary of their commentary, will then be published into the next edition of "The Network," which will hopefully be put out in the fall. The topic areas in which the Committee is accepting submissions are:
A. Schools
B. Using surveillance for planning
C. General surveillance issues
D. Background clinical/medial advice for epidemiologists - high risk groups
E. Veterinary issues/reverse zoonosis
2. Don Olson gave an update on the current status of the DiSTRIBuTE project, and called for international participation. In the coming flu season, if it continues to be funded, it is hoped that the project can be expanded to both US and international sites.
3. International Skills Survey: The survey developed for the Committee is currently being placed on hold. It is hoped that the scope survey can be extended to the entire ISDS membership. Until the necessary changes have been made and the timing has been decided, the survey will remain inactive.
Next Meeting:
Thursday, October 1st at 10:00 am EDT.
Research on School Absenteeism Data and the Effect of School Closings on Disease Spread: Webinar Recording and Slides Now Available
The recording and presentation slides from the Research Committee's webinar on "Research on School Absenteeism Data and the Effect of School Closings on Disease Spread" are now available on the ISDS wiki.
Thanks to all who made this webinar a success! There are several possibilities for following up on this event. If you would like to get involved in future activities of the Research Committee, please contact: rviola-at-syndromic.org.
Thanks to all who made this webinar a success! There are several possibilities for following up on this event. If you would like to get involved in future activities of the Research Committee, please contact: rviola-at-syndromic.org.
28 July 2009
July Public Health Practice Committee Meeting
When: Monday, July 27th at 12:00 pm EDT.
Agenda:
1) Approval of the minutes
2) ISDS updates
3) Reminder of the upcoming ISDS Research Committee Webinar scheduled for Thursday, July 30, 2009 11:00 AM-12:00 PM EDT: "Research on School Absenteeism Data and the Effect of School Closings on Disease Spread"
4) Guest presentation: “Syndromic Surveillance Program Characteristics in the United States in 2008” by Peter Leese, Economist at Research Triangle Institute, Inc. & David Rein, PhD, Research Economist at Research Triangle Institute, Inc.
5) A discussion on current and proposed use of advanced surveillance systems to track novel flu A (H1N1) activity and plans to evaluate school and community mitigation activities this fall
6) The ongoing DiSTRIBuTE perspective on this influenza pandemic
7) Use of federal stimulus funds to enhance public health preparedness surveillance
Discussion:
2. ISDS updates: Don Olson gave a brief update on the status of ISDS and the DiSTRIBuTE project. ISDS is currently in the stages of a preliminary agreement for the next phase of DiSTRIBuTE funding. In the coming weeks, Don will be contacting members of the PHPC to solicit support for DiSTRIBuTE.
5. Tracking H1N1 in schools (Marc Paladini): Marc discussed his current work on evaluation of the timing of school breaks and their effects of ED visits for ILI when comparing across age groups. Thus far, it has been difficult to develop the appropriate statistical measures. For the upcoming flu season, he hopes that there will be better reporting by grades K-8 in the New York City school system, and to begin integrating school nurse visits with absentee data and active surveillance.
6. Current DiSTRIBuTE perspective on H1N1 (Don Olson): Don is interested in gathering locals/states to collaborate and determine the impact of school closures (in this case, the end of the academic year) in spring 2009 on the H1N1 pandemic spread. He hopes to keep this discussion on the effect of school closures on H1N1 age distribution open into the fall, so that the effect of schools reopening in September can be observed.
7. The PHPC is interested in assessing what its members are doing to use the federal stimulus money to further develop surveillance systems. This will be discussed in greater detail on next month's call.
Next meeting: Monday, August 24th at 12:00 pm EDT.
Agenda:
1) Approval of the minutes
2) ISDS updates
3) Reminder of the upcoming ISDS Research Committee Webinar scheduled for Thursday, July 30, 2009 11:00 AM-12:00 PM EDT: "Research on School Absenteeism Data and the Effect of School Closings on Disease Spread"
4) Guest presentation: “Syndromic Surveillance Program Characteristics in the United States in 2008” by Peter Leese, Economist at Research Triangle Institute, Inc. & David Rein, PhD, Research Economist at Research Triangle Institute, Inc.
5) A discussion on current and proposed use of advanced surveillance systems to track novel flu A (H1N1) activity and plans to evaluate school and community mitigation activities this fall
6) The ongoing DiSTRIBuTE perspective on this influenza pandemic
7) Use of federal stimulus funds to enhance public health preparedness surveillance
Discussion:
2. ISDS updates: Don Olson gave a brief update on the status of ISDS and the DiSTRIBuTE project. ISDS is currently in the stages of a preliminary agreement for the next phase of DiSTRIBuTE funding. In the coming weeks, Don will be contacting members of the PHPC to solicit support for DiSTRIBuTE.
5. Tracking H1N1 in schools (Marc Paladini): Marc discussed his current work on evaluation of the timing of school breaks and their effects of ED visits for ILI when comparing across age groups. Thus far, it has been difficult to develop the appropriate statistical measures. For the upcoming flu season, he hopes that there will be better reporting by grades K-8 in the New York City school system, and to begin integrating school nurse visits with absentee data and active surveillance.
6. Current DiSTRIBuTE perspective on H1N1 (Don Olson): Don is interested in gathering locals/states to collaborate and determine the impact of school closures (in this case, the end of the academic year) in spring 2009 on the H1N1 pandemic spread. He hopes to keep this discussion on the effect of school closures on H1N1 age distribution open into the fall, so that the effect of schools reopening in September can be observed.
7. The PHPC is interested in assessing what its members are doing to use the federal stimulus money to further develop surveillance systems. This will be discussed in greater detail on next month's call.
Next meeting: Monday, August 24th at 12:00 pm EDT.
21 July 2009
Webinar: Research on School Absenteeism Data and the Effect of School Closings on Disease Spread
This month, the ISDS Research Committee is hosting a webinar on "Research on School Absenteeism Data and the Effect of School Closings on Disease Spread." This meeting will be the Committee's first topical call.
Many members are interested in surveillance using school absenteeism, illness-associated or otherwise, and on the effect of school closings on the recent H1N1 threat.
Featured panelists:
-Marc Paladini, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene
-Julia Gunn, Boston Public Health Commission
-Francisco Averhoff, CDC/CCID/NCPDCID
-Shuying Shen, Department of Biomedical Informatics, University of Utah
-Atar Baer, Public Health - Seattle & King County
The webinar will be taking place on Thursday, July 30th at 11:00 am EDT.
Register here.
Many members are interested in surveillance using school absenteeism, illness-associated or otherwise, and on the effect of school closings on the recent H1N1 threat.
Featured panelists:
-Marc Paladini, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene
-Julia Gunn, Boston Public Health Commission
-Francisco Averhoff, CDC/CCID/NCPDCID
-Shuying Shen, Department of Biomedical Informatics, University of Utah
-Atar Baer, Public Health - Seattle & King County
The webinar will be taking place on Thursday, July 30th at 11:00 am EDT.
Register here.
15 July 2009
Research Committee Updates
Based on discussions with the ISDS Board and the most active members of the Research Committee, the following changes have been made to the Committee's structure:
1. Maintain the Literature Review and the Resources section but suspend (at least) the contest and forum efforts. The Committee will continue to move as quickly as possible toward the special issue of ADS for the first technical contest.
2. Under this consolidation, the Literature Reviews would occur every other month, alternating with general meetings.
3. For general meetings, the Committee is going to try a topical rather than a functional format for increased participation. The topical format will be informal, with an invited panel of 3-6 presenters who would not necessarily prepare slides. We will use GoToWebinar to shift between presenter desktops. Individual members or subgroups could plan a single monthly meeting choosing a research topic of interest. (It seems easier to ask a committee member to organize one informal call of interest to that person than to serve on a continual basis, and it also seems reasonable to find one topic of interest every other month.)
Given the success of the Literature Review presentations, it seems likely that these topical meetings will generate more interest than regular functional meetings and may spawn new cooperative efforts. They may lead to some of the other original Committee goals such as grant-seeking just by getting more participation.
The next full Research Committee Meeting will be taking place on Thursday, July 30th at 11:00 am EDT. More details to follow.
1. Maintain the Literature Review and the Resources section but suspend (at least) the contest and forum efforts. The Committee will continue to move as quickly as possible toward the special issue of ADS for the first technical contest.
2. Under this consolidation, the Literature Reviews would occur every other month, alternating with general meetings.
3. For general meetings, the Committee is going to try a topical rather than a functional format for increased participation. The topical format will be informal, with an invited panel of 3-6 presenters who would not necessarily prepare slides. We will use GoToWebinar to shift between presenter desktops. Individual members or subgroups could plan a single monthly meeting choosing a research topic of interest. (It seems easier to ask a committee member to organize one informal call of interest to that person than to serve on a continual basis, and it also seems reasonable to find one topic of interest every other month.)
Given the success of the Literature Review presentations, it seems likely that these topical meetings will generate more interest than regular functional meetings and may spawn new cooperative efforts. They may lead to some of the other original Committee goals such as grant-seeking just by getting more participation.
The next full Research Committee Meeting will be taking place on Thursday, July 30th at 11:00 am EDT. More details to follow.
10 July 2009
2009 Conference Registration Information
The ISDS is pleased to announce that registration for the 2009 Annual Conference is now open. Please visit the registration page for this year's registration rates and hotel information.
Important registration deadlines:
Early registration ends September 6, 2009.
Regular registration is open from September 7 - November 15, 2009.
Late registration begins on November 16, 2009.
Become an ISDS member and save on your conference registration! For an additional fee of $50 ($35 for students) you will be able to take advantage of a significant discount for conference registration.
General conference information
Important registration deadlines:
Early registration ends September 6, 2009.
Regular registration is open from September 7 - November 15, 2009.
Late registration begins on November 16, 2009.
Become an ISDS member and save on your conference registration! For an additional fee of $50 ($35 for students) you will be able to take advantage of a significant discount for conference registration.
General conference information
08 July 2009
2009 Call for Abstracts
The 2009 Scientific Program Committee is now accepting abstract submissions for this year's conference. Below is the letter that was sent out to the Society mailing list:
Dear Members,
The International Society for Disease Surveillance announces that abstracts for oral presentations and posters are now being accepted for this year’s ISDS annual conference, December 3-4, 2009, Miami, Florida. Instructions and forms for online submission are available on the ISDS website, or at the 2009 Conference site. Abstract submissions should follow the abstract format standard, posted within the instructions. Abstracts are due by August 19, 2009.
All presenters (posters and oral presentations) are required to register for the conference. Online registration for all attendees is available on our website.
We look forward to receiving your submissions and to seeing you in Miami in December at our annual conference.
Thank you,
Henry Rolka, RN, MPS, MS, Scientific Program Chair
Fermin Leguen, MD, MPH, Organizing Chair
Dear Members,
The International Society for Disease Surveillance announces that abstracts for oral presentations and posters are now being accepted for this year’s ISDS annual conference, December 3-4, 2009, Miami, Florida. Instructions and forms for online submission are available on the ISDS website, or at the 2009 Conference site. Abstract submissions should follow the abstract format standard, posted within the instructions. Abstracts are due by August 19, 2009.
All presenters (posters and oral presentations) are required to register for the conference. Online registration for all attendees is available on our website.
We look forward to receiving your submissions and to seeing you in Miami in December at our annual conference.
Thank you,
Henry Rolka, RN, MPS, MS, Scientific Program Chair
Fermin Leguen, MD, MPH, Organizing Chair
23 June 2009
June Public Health Practice Committee Meeting
When: Monday, June 22nd at 12:00 pm EDT
Agenda:
1) Approval of the minutes,
2) ISDS update
3) A brief summary of the recent joint PHPC & Research Committee webinar
4) Ongoing CDC surveys
5) A discussion on current use of advanced surveillance systems to track novel flu A (H1N1) activity and conduct late season flu surveillance
6) The DiSTRIBuTE perspective on this extended influenza season
7) Use of federal stimulus funds to enhance public health preparedness surveillance
8) Next meeting on Monday July 27, 2009: Guest speaker presentation on the ongoing CDC survey of advanced surveillance system usage.
Next Meeting: Monday, July 27th at 12:00 pm EDT.
Agenda:
1) Approval of the minutes,
2) ISDS update
3) A brief summary of the recent joint PHPC & Research Committee webinar
4) Ongoing CDC surveys
5) A discussion on current use of advanced surveillance systems to track novel flu A (H1N1) activity and conduct late season flu surveillance
6) The DiSTRIBuTE perspective on this extended influenza season
7) Use of federal stimulus funds to enhance public health preparedness surveillance
8) Next meeting on Monday July 27, 2009: Guest speaker presentation on the ongoing CDC survey of advanced surveillance system usage.
Next Meeting: Monday, July 27th at 12:00 pm EDT.
18 June 2009
June Literature Summaries Now Available
15 June 2009
PDF of "The Network" Now Available
The Spring 2009 issue of the Global Outreach Committee's newsletter, "The Network" is now available in pdf format.
Since newsletter is a public domain document, ISDS members are encouraged to forward it on to colleagues and non-ISDS members.
Finally, the Global Outreach Committee is interested in receiving submissions for the next issue of "The Network." If you would like to contribute a short article that would be of relevance and interest to an international audience, please contact rviola@syndromic.org.
A reminder that the next Global Outreach Committee meeting will be taking place on Thursday, July 30th at 10:00 am EDT.
Since newsletter is a public domain document, ISDS members are encouraged to forward it on to colleagues and non-ISDS members.
Finally, the Global Outreach Committee is interested in receiving submissions for the next issue of "The Network." If you would like to contribute a short article that would be of relevance and interest to an international audience, please contact rviola@syndromic.org.
A reminder that the next Global Outreach Committee meeting will be taking place on Thursday, July 30th at 10:00 am EDT.
12 June 2009
ISDS in ScienceInsider
Recently the work of the DiSTRIBuTE project as it relates to H1N1 was featured in an entry of the ScienceInsider blog. The entry includes an interview with Don Olson, the Research Director of ISDS.
Read the post here.
This post was also referenced by two other blogs:
ScienceNOW
Daily Kos
Read the post here.
This post was also referenced by two other blogs:
ScienceNOW
Daily Kos
11 June 2009
Articles for June Literature Review
The following is a list of the most recent selections from the ISDS Research Committee PubCrawler search. Several articles concern the recent H1N1 threat.
Please email your input on any selected articles by June 17, 2009 to rviola@syndromic.org. The teleconference to organize these submissions will be on Thursday, June 18 at 10:00 AM EDT.
Special Presentation: Also, scheduled for the second half of this call is a presentation and discussion lead by Anette Hulth of the Swedish Institute for Infectious Disease Control on her recent article, “Web Queries as a Source for Syndromic Surveillance.” The first 30 minutes of the call will be spent discussing the month's article summaries, and then Dr. Hulth will make her presentation followed by a discussion, starting promptly at 10:30 EST. You may view her abstract or obtain the full-length article here.
Finally, don't forget to register for the webinar!
-----
Merl D, Johnson LR, Gramacy RB, Mangel M.
A statistical framework for the adaptive management of epidemiological interventions.
PLoS ONE. 2009 Jun 5;4(6):e5807.
Brammer L, Budd A, Cox N.
Seasonal and pandemic influenza surveillance considerations for constructing multicomponent systems.
Influenza Other Respi Viruses. 2009 Mar;3(2):51-58.
Du P, Feng G, Flatow J, Song J, Holko M, Kibbe WA, Lin SM.
From disease ontology to disease-ontology lite: statistical methods to adapt a general-purpose ontology for the test of gene-ontology associations.
Bioinformatics. 2009 Jun 15;25(12):i63-8.
Yoshida M, Matsui T, Ohkusa Y, Kobayashi J, Ohyama T, Sugawara T, Yasui Y, Tachibana T, Okabe N.
Seasonal influenza surveillance using prescription data for anti-influenza medications.
Jpn J Infect Dis. 2009 May;62(3):233-5.
Sue Huang Q, Lopez LD, McCallum L, Adlam B.
Influenza surveillance and immunisation in New Zealand, 1997-2006.
Influenza Other Respi Viruses. 2008 Jul;2(4):139-45.
Zaraket H, Saito R, Tanabe N, Taniguchi K, Suzuki H.
Association of early annual peak influenza activity with El Niño southern oscillation in Japan.
Influenza Other Respi Viruses. 2008 Jul;2(4):127-30.
Thompson WW, Weintraub E, Dhankhar P, Cheng PY, Brammer L, Meltzer MI, Bresee JS, Shay DK.
Estimates of US influenza-associated deaths made using four different methods.
Influenza Other Respi Viruses. 2009 Jan;3(1):37-49.
Hesterberg U, Harris K, Stroud D, Guberti V, Busani L, Pittman M, Piazza V, Cook A, Brown I.
Avian influenza surveillance in wild birds in the European Union in 2006.
Influenza Other Respi Viruses. 2009 Jan;3(1):1-14.
Murray K, Kilborn C, DesVignes-Kendrick M, Koers E, Page V, Selwyn B, Shah U, Palacio H.
Emerging disease syndromic surveillance for Hurricane Katrina evacuees seeking shelter in Houston's Astrodome and Reliant Park Complex.
Public Health Rep. 2009 May-Jun;124(3):364-71.
Jung I, Kulldorff M, Kleinman KP, Yih WK, Platt R.
Using encounters versus episodes in syndromic surveillance.
J Public Health (Oxf). 2009 May 13;. [Epub ahead of print]
Temte JL, Grasmick ME.
Recruiting primary care clinicians for public health and bioterrorism surveillance.
WMJ. 2009 Apr;108(2):104-8.
McVernon J, McCaw CT, Mathews JD.
Model answers or trivial pursuits? The role of mathematical models in influenza pandemic preparedness planning.
Influenza Other Respi Viruses. 2007 Mar;1(2):43-54.
Liao YC, Ko CY, Tsai MH, Lee MS, Hsiung CA.
ATIVS: analytical tool for influenza virus surveillance.
Nucleic Acids Res. 2009 May 8;. [Epub ahead of print]
Gallaher WR
Towards a sane and rational approach to management of Influenza H1N1 2009.
Virol J. 2009 May 7;6(1):51.
Shinde V, Bridges CB, Uyeki TM, Shu B, Balish A, Xu X, Lindstrom S, Gubareva LV, Deyde V, Garten RJ, Harris M, Gerber S, Vagoski S, Smith F, Pascoe N, Martin K, Dufficy D, Ritger K, Conover C, Quinlisk P, Klimov A, Bresee JS, Finelli L.
Triple-Reassortant Swine Influenza A (H1) in Humans in the United States, 2005-2009.
N Engl J Med. 2009 May 7
Dubberke ER, Butler AM, Hota B, Khan YM, Mangino JE, Mayer J, Popovich KJ, Stevenson KB, Yokoe DS, McDonald LC, Jernigan J, Fraser VJ.
Multicenter Study of the Impact of Community-Onset Clostridium difficile Infection on Surveillance for C. difficile Infection. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. 2009 May 5
Please email your input on any selected articles by June 17, 2009 to rviola@syndromic.org. The teleconference to organize these submissions will be on Thursday, June 18 at 10:00 AM EDT.
Special Presentation: Also, scheduled for the second half of this call is a presentation and discussion lead by Anette Hulth of the Swedish Institute for Infectious Disease Control on her recent article, “Web Queries as a Source for Syndromic Surveillance.” The first 30 minutes of the call will be spent discussing the month's article summaries, and then Dr. Hulth will make her presentation followed by a discussion, starting promptly at 10:30 EST. You may view her abstract or obtain the full-length article here.
Finally, don't forget to register for the webinar!
-----
Merl D, Johnson LR, Gramacy RB, Mangel M.
A statistical framework for the adaptive management of epidemiological interventions.
PLoS ONE. 2009 Jun 5;4(6):e5807.
Brammer L, Budd A, Cox N.
Seasonal and pandemic influenza surveillance considerations for constructing multicomponent systems.
Influenza Other Respi Viruses. 2009 Mar;3(2):51-58.
Du P, Feng G, Flatow J, Song J, Holko M, Kibbe WA, Lin SM.
From disease ontology to disease-ontology lite: statistical methods to adapt a general-purpose ontology for the test of gene-ontology associations.
Bioinformatics. 2009 Jun 15;25(12):i63-8.
Yoshida M, Matsui T, Ohkusa Y, Kobayashi J, Ohyama T, Sugawara T, Yasui Y, Tachibana T, Okabe N.
Seasonal influenza surveillance using prescription data for anti-influenza medications.
Jpn J Infect Dis. 2009 May;62(3):233-5.
Sue Huang Q, Lopez LD, McCallum L, Adlam B.
Influenza surveillance and immunisation in New Zealand, 1997-2006.
Influenza Other Respi Viruses. 2008 Jul;2(4):139-45.
Zaraket H, Saito R, Tanabe N, Taniguchi K, Suzuki H.
Association of early annual peak influenza activity with El Niño southern oscillation in Japan.
Influenza Other Respi Viruses. 2008 Jul;2(4):127-30.
Thompson WW, Weintraub E, Dhankhar P, Cheng PY, Brammer L, Meltzer MI, Bresee JS, Shay DK.
Estimates of US influenza-associated deaths made using four different methods.
Influenza Other Respi Viruses. 2009 Jan;3(1):37-49.
Hesterberg U, Harris K, Stroud D, Guberti V, Busani L, Pittman M, Piazza V, Cook A, Brown I.
Avian influenza surveillance in wild birds in the European Union in 2006.
Influenza Other Respi Viruses. 2009 Jan;3(1):1-14.
Murray K, Kilborn C, DesVignes-Kendrick M, Koers E, Page V, Selwyn B, Shah U, Palacio H.
Emerging disease syndromic surveillance for Hurricane Katrina evacuees seeking shelter in Houston's Astrodome and Reliant Park Complex.
Public Health Rep. 2009 May-Jun;124(3):364-71.
Jung I, Kulldorff M, Kleinman KP, Yih WK, Platt R.
Using encounters versus episodes in syndromic surveillance.
J Public Health (Oxf). 2009 May 13;. [Epub ahead of print]
Temte JL, Grasmick ME.
Recruiting primary care clinicians for public health and bioterrorism surveillance.
WMJ. 2009 Apr;108(2):104-8.
McVernon J, McCaw CT, Mathews JD.
Model answers or trivial pursuits? The role of mathematical models in influenza pandemic preparedness planning.
Influenza Other Respi Viruses. 2007 Mar;1(2):43-54.
Liao YC, Ko CY, Tsai MH, Lee MS, Hsiung CA.
ATIVS: analytical tool for influenza virus surveillance.
Nucleic Acids Res. 2009 May 8;. [Epub ahead of print]
Gallaher WR
Towards a sane and rational approach to management of Influenza H1N1 2009.
Virol J. 2009 May 7;6(1):51.
Shinde V, Bridges CB, Uyeki TM, Shu B, Balish A, Xu X, Lindstrom S, Gubareva LV, Deyde V, Garten RJ, Harris M, Gerber S, Vagoski S, Smith F, Pascoe N, Martin K, Dufficy D, Ritger K, Conover C, Quinlisk P, Klimov A, Bresee JS, Finelli L.
Triple-Reassortant Swine Influenza A (H1) in Humans in the United States, 2005-2009.
N Engl J Med. 2009 May 7
Dubberke ER, Butler AM, Hota B, Khan YM, Mangino JE, Mayer J, Popovich KJ, Stevenson KB, Yokoe DS, McDonald LC, Jernigan J, Fraser VJ.
Multicenter Study of the Impact of Community-Onset Clostridium difficile Infection on Surveillance for C. difficile Infection. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. 2009 May 5
28 May 2009
Webinar Presentations Now Available
Thanks to all who attended the Research and Public Health Practice Committees' webinar, "Technical Challenges from the Public Health Practice Community" this Thursday. There were approximately 100 people in attendance! The success of this webinar is highly encouraging; as a result, ISDS hopes to be able to host similar events in the near future.
Our panelists have graciously agreed to allow the posting of their slides on the ISDS wiki. In addition to viewing the presentation slides, you can also listen to the recording, read the abstracts and view the participant list. All are available here.
Our panelists have graciously agreed to allow the posting of their slides on the ISDS wiki. In addition to viewing the presentation slides, you can also listen to the recording, read the abstracts and view the participant list. All are available here.
May Literature Summaries Now Available
The summaries from the May 27th Literature Review are now available on the ISDS wiki.
During the next Literature Review, Anette Hulth and her colleagues of the Swedish Institute for Infectious Disease Control will present their paper entitled "Web Queries as a Source for Syndromic Surveillance." The presentation will take place on Thursday, June 18th at 10:00 am EDT.
Register here for the June Literature Review webinar.
During the next Literature Review, Anette Hulth and her colleagues of the Swedish Institute for Infectious Disease Control will present their paper entitled "Web Queries as a Source for Syndromic Surveillance." The presentation will take place on Thursday, June 18th at 10:00 am EDT.
Register here for the June Literature Review webinar.
19 May 2009
2009 Conference Planning Updates
The 2009 Conference Committee has finalized the selection of the Scientific Program Committee, along with this year's conference themes.
Conference Title: Biosurveillance Across Disciplines: Advancing Health Threat Awareness and Public Health Protection
Themes:
-Post-marketing pharmacovigiliance and medical product safety
-Plant and animal surveillance for food chain safety
-Syndromic surveillance case studies and innovations
-Global climate change: surveillance, evidence and implications for public health
-Electronic medical records and public health surveillance
-Transdisciplinary biosurveillance: information fusion across domains
Conference Committee Members:
-Organizing Chair: Fermin Leguen, MD, Miami Dade County Health Department
-Scientific Program Chair: Henry Rolka, RN, MPS, MPH Centers for Disease Control
-Board Liaison: Joe Lombardo, PhD, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory
-Workshop Chair: Michael Coletta, MPH, Virginia Department of Health
Scientific Program Committee Members:
-Hesha Jani Duggirala, PhD, U.S. Food and Drug Administration
-Alexis Jeannotte, Department of Homeland Security
-Lynda Kelley, DVM, PhD, Food Safety Inspection Service
-Michael Klompas, MD, MPH, FRCPC, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care
-George Luber, PhD, Centers for Disease Control
-Teresa Quitugua, PhD, Department of Homeland Security
-Guoyan Zhang, MD, Miami Dade County Health Department
-Atar Baer, Public Health - Seattle & King County
-Daniel Neill, PhD, Carnegie Mellon University
-Wendy Chapman, PhD, University of Pittsburgh
-Erin O'Connell, MPH, Miami Dade County Health Department
More information available here
Conference Title: Biosurveillance Across Disciplines: Advancing Health Threat Awareness and Public Health Protection
Themes:
-Post-marketing pharmacovigiliance and medical product safety
-Plant and animal surveillance for food chain safety
-Syndromic surveillance case studies and innovations
-Global climate change: surveillance, evidence and implications for public health
-Electronic medical records and public health surveillance
-Transdisciplinary biosurveillance: information fusion across domains
Conference Committee Members:
-Organizing Chair: Fermin Leguen, MD, Miami Dade County Health Department
-Scientific Program Chair: Henry Rolka, RN, MPS, MPH Centers for Disease Control
-Board Liaison: Joe Lombardo, PhD, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory
-Workshop Chair: Michael Coletta, MPH, Virginia Department of Health
Scientific Program Committee Members:
-Hesha Jani Duggirala, PhD, U.S. Food and Drug Administration
-Alexis Jeannotte, Department of Homeland Security
-Lynda Kelley, DVM, PhD, Food Safety Inspection Service
-Michael Klompas, MD, MPH, FRCPC, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care
-George Luber, PhD, Centers for Disease Control
-Teresa Quitugua, PhD, Department of Homeland Security
-Guoyan Zhang, MD, Miami Dade County Health Department
-Atar Baer, Public Health - Seattle & King County
-Daniel Neill, PhD, Carnegie Mellon University
-Wendy Chapman, PhD, University of Pittsburgh
-Erin O'Connell, MPH, Miami Dade County Health Department
More information available here
15 May 2009
Education and Training Committee Meeting
When: Monday, May 11th at 1:00 pm EDT
Agenda:
1. Graduate syndromic course
2. Pre-conference workshop planning
Discussion:
1. Committee member Debjani Das is currently working on putting together a series of lectures for a graduate-level syndromic surveillance course. She has written several lectures so far that are now are ready for edit and review. Once the lectures are complete, the goal is to post them as a free resource on syndromic.org and/or the Education and Training wiki page. The committee is looking for reviewers with a wide range of experience. To learn more about getting involved in the review process, please email das_rima@hotmail.com.
2. The Committee is exploring the possibility of offering an abbreviated version of its Syndromic Surveillance 101 course at this year's pre-conference workshop, which will be taking place on Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009. It is hoped that the course can be offered as a free morning session before the workshop begins, and that it will be a chance for local public health practitioners to get involved in the conference.
3. As this year's Pre-Conference Workshop Chair, Michael Coletta has drafted an outline for the format of the workshop. The first half of the workshop will consist of a set of interactive presentations, followed by a swap-meet in the afternoon.
Next Meeting:
The next Education and Training Committee meeting will be held on Monday, June 1st at 1:00 pm EDT.
Agenda:
1. Graduate syndromic course
2. Pre-conference workshop planning
Discussion:
1. Committee member Debjani Das is currently working on putting together a series of lectures for a graduate-level syndromic surveillance course. She has written several lectures so far that are now are ready for edit and review. Once the lectures are complete, the goal is to post them as a free resource on syndromic.org and/or the Education and Training wiki page. The committee is looking for reviewers with a wide range of experience. To learn more about getting involved in the review process, please email das_rima@hotmail.com.
2. The Committee is exploring the possibility of offering an abbreviated version of its Syndromic Surveillance 101 course at this year's pre-conference workshop, which will be taking place on Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009. It is hoped that the course can be offered as a free morning session before the workshop begins, and that it will be a chance for local public health practitioners to get involved in the conference.
3. As this year's Pre-Conference Workshop Chair, Michael Coletta has drafted an outline for the format of the workshop. The first half of the workshop will consist of a set of interactive presentations, followed by a swap-meet in the afternoon.
Next Meeting:
The next Education and Training Committee meeting will be held on Monday, June 1st at 1:00 pm EDT.
Articles for May Literature Review
This month, the Research Committee will be hosting its Literature Review on Wednesday, May 27th at 10:00 am EDT.
The articles for our literature discussion are listed below, and have also been posted to the ISDSResearch Gmail account.
As always, this call is optional for contributors but is an opportunity to help, express concerns, and make suggestions.
Please note any articles of high quality and broad appeal for inviting the authors for online presentation or for consideration for ISDS recognition in its annual awards.
To clarify the process for our growing list of participants, the submissions should be brief structured summaries rather than formal reviews. Submit a summary only if you feel that the article is worthy of posting.
For a copy of the summary template or to access the ISDSResearch gmail account, please email rviola@syndromic.org. Please email your input on any selected articles by Tuesday, May 26th.
----------------------------
van-Dijk A, Aramini J, Edge G, Moore KM.
Real-time surveillance for respiratory disease outbreaks, Ontario, Canada.
Emerg Infect Dis. 2009 May;15(5):799-801.
Hafen RP, Anderson DE, Cleveland WS, Maciejewski R, Ebert DS, Abusalah A, Yakout M, Ouzzani M, Grannis SJ.
Syndromic surveillance: STL for modeling, visualizing, and monitoring disease counts.
BMC Med Inform Decis Mak. 2009 Apr 21;9(1):21. [Epub ahead of print]
Yih WK, Teates KS, Abrams A, Kleinman K, Kulldorff M, Pinner R, Harmon R, Wang S, Platt R.
Telephone triage service data for detection of influenza-like illness.
PLoS ONE. 2009;4(4):e5260.
Li Y, Yu JF, Yin L, Cui GZ.
[Concepts of ontology-based neuroinformatics and their relations.]
Beijing Da Xue Xue Bao. 2009 Apr 18;41(2):230-4. Chinese.
Reina J, Nicolau A, Galmes A, Arbona B.
[Diagnostic yield of paediatric respiratory samples in the Balearic Islands Sentinel Influenza Surveillance Network.] An Pediatr (Barc). 2009 Apr 16;. Spanish.
Muscatello DJ, Morton PM, Evans I, Gilmour R.
Prospective surveillance of excess mortality due to influenza in New South Wales: feasibility and statistical approach.
Commun Dis Intell. 2008 Dec;32(4):435-42.
Neill DB.
An empirical comparison of spatial scan statistics for outbreak detection.
Int J Health Geogr. 2009 Apr 16;8(1):20. [Epub ahead of print]
Pattie DC, Atherton MJ, Cox KL.
Electronic Influenza Monitoring: Evaluation of Body Temperature to Classify Influenza-like Illness in a Syndromic Surveillance System. Qual Manag Health Care. 2009 Apr-Jun;18(2):91-102.
Ndifon W, Dushoff J, Levin SA.
On the use of hemagglutination-inhibition for influenza surveillance: Surveillance data are predictive of influenza vaccine effectiveness. Vaccine. 2009 Apr 21;27(18):2447-52.
Fisman DN, Greer AL, Brouhanski G, Drews SJ.
Of gastro and the gold standard: evaluation and policy implications of norovirus test performance for outbreak detection. J Transl Med. 2009 Mar 26;7:23.
de Mello WA, de Paiva TM, Ishida MA, Benega MA, Dos Santos MC, Viboud C, Miller MA, Alonso WJ.
The dilemma of influenza vaccine recommendations when applied to the tropics: the Brazilian case examined under alternative scenarios.
PLoS ONE. 2009;4(4):e5095.
Ansaldi F, Orsi A, Altomonte F, Bertone G, Parodi V, Carloni R, Moscatelli P, Pasero E, Oreste P, Icardi G.
Emergency department syndromic surveillance system for early detection of 5 syndromes: a pilot project in a reference teaching hospital in Genoa, Italy.
J Prev Med Hyg. 2008 Dec;49(4):131-5.
The articles for our literature discussion are listed below, and have also been posted to the ISDSResearch Gmail account.
As always, this call is optional for contributors but is an opportunity to help, express concerns, and make suggestions.
Please note any articles of high quality and broad appeal for inviting the authors for online presentation or for consideration for ISDS recognition in its annual awards.
To clarify the process for our growing list of participants, the submissions should be brief structured summaries rather than formal reviews. Submit a summary only if you feel that the article is worthy of posting.
For a copy of the summary template or to access the ISDSResearch gmail account, please email rviola@syndromic.org. Please email your input on any selected articles by Tuesday, May 26th.
----------------------------
van-Dijk A, Aramini J, Edge G, Moore KM.
Real-time surveillance for respiratory disease outbreaks, Ontario, Canada.
Emerg Infect Dis. 2009 May;15(5):799-801.
Hafen RP, Anderson DE, Cleveland WS, Maciejewski R, Ebert DS, Abusalah A, Yakout M, Ouzzani M, Grannis SJ.
Syndromic surveillance: STL for modeling, visualizing, and monitoring disease counts.
BMC Med Inform Decis Mak. 2009 Apr 21;9(1):21. [Epub ahead of print]
Yih WK, Teates KS, Abrams A, Kleinman K, Kulldorff M, Pinner R, Harmon R, Wang S, Platt R.
Telephone triage service data for detection of influenza-like illness.
PLoS ONE. 2009;4(4):e5260.
Li Y, Yu JF, Yin L, Cui GZ.
[Concepts of ontology-based neuroinformatics and their relations.]
Beijing Da Xue Xue Bao. 2009 Apr 18;41(2):230-4. Chinese.
Reina J, Nicolau A, Galmes A, Arbona B.
[Diagnostic yield of paediatric respiratory samples in the Balearic Islands Sentinel Influenza Surveillance Network.] An Pediatr (Barc). 2009 Apr 16;. Spanish.
Muscatello DJ, Morton PM, Evans I, Gilmour R.
Prospective surveillance of excess mortality due to influenza in New South Wales: feasibility and statistical approach.
Commun Dis Intell. 2008 Dec;32(4):435-42.
Neill DB.
An empirical comparison of spatial scan statistics for outbreak detection.
Int J Health Geogr. 2009 Apr 16;8(1):20. [Epub ahead of print]
Pattie DC, Atherton MJ, Cox KL.
Electronic Influenza Monitoring: Evaluation of Body Temperature to Classify Influenza-like Illness in a Syndromic Surveillance System. Qual Manag Health Care. 2009 Apr-Jun;18(2):91-102.
Ndifon W, Dushoff J, Levin SA.
On the use of hemagglutination-inhibition for influenza surveillance: Surveillance data are predictive of influenza vaccine effectiveness. Vaccine. 2009 Apr 21;27(18):2447-52.
Fisman DN, Greer AL, Brouhanski G, Drews SJ.
Of gastro and the gold standard: evaluation and policy implications of norovirus test performance for outbreak detection. J Transl Med. 2009 Mar 26;7:23.
de Mello WA, de Paiva TM, Ishida MA, Benega MA, Dos Santos MC, Viboud C, Miller MA, Alonso WJ.
The dilemma of influenza vaccine recommendations when applied to the tropics: the Brazilian case examined under alternative scenarios.
PLoS ONE. 2009;4(4):e5095.
Ansaldi F, Orsi A, Altomonte F, Bertone G, Parodi V, Carloni R, Moscatelli P, Pasero E, Oreste P, Icardi G.
Emergency department syndromic surveillance system for early detection of 5 syndromes: a pilot project in a reference teaching hospital in Genoa, Italy.
J Prev Med Hyg. 2008 Dec;49(4):131-5.
01 May 2009
"The Network" Newsletter, Part 4: HealthMap Update
by John Brownstein, PhD, ISDS Board of Directors
This article is a part of a series that will be published in the Global Outreach newsletter, "The Network." A pdf version of "The Network" is coming soon!
Developed by the Children’s Hospital Informatics Program (CHIP) at the Harvard Medical School, the HealthMap prototype (HealthMap.org) is an openly available public health intelligence system that brings together disparate data sources to produce a unified and comprehensive view of the current global state of infectious diseases and their effect on human and animal health. HealthMap is a multi-stream and multilingual real-time surveillance platform that continually aggregates reports on new and ongoing infectious disease outbreaks. The system monitors, organizes, integrates, filters, visualizes and disseminates online information about emerging diseases, facilitating knowledge management and early detection. It serves to bring structure to an information flow that would otherwise be overwhelming to the user or obscure important and urgent elements. HealthMap relies on a variety of electronic media sources including online news sources through aggregators such as Google News, expert-curated discussion such as ProMED-mail, and validated official reports from organizations such as the WHO. Currently, the system collects reports from 18 sources, which in turn represent information from over 20,000 Web sites, every hour, 24 hours a day. Internet search criteria include disease names (scientific and common), symptoms, keywords and phrases. The system collects an average of 300 reports per da. HealthMap has processed over 200,000 alerts across 171 disease categories and 202 countries or semi-autonomous/overseas territories since it was launched in October of 2006.
HealthMap is designed to provide a starting point for real-time intelligence on a broad range of emerging infectious diseases for a diverse range of end users, from public health officials to international travelers. The system currently serves as a direct information source for approximately 10,000 unique visitors per day, as well as a resource for libraries, local health departments, governments (e.g., the US Department Health and Human Services and Department of Defense), multinational agencies (e.g., the United Nations) and nonprofit organizations (Wildlife Conservation Society, PBS), which use the HealthMap data stream for day-to-day surveillance activities. Many regular users come from the WHO, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. Through a direct RSS feed, a number of organizations, ranging from local health departments to national organizations such as US Health and Human Services (e.g.: used during the 2008 Democratic and Republican National Conventions), the US Department of Defense, USGS, and the Wildlife Conservation Society all leverage the HealthMap data stream for day-to-day surveillance activities. HealthMap has also been featured in a number of mainstream media and scientific publications, including Wired News, Lancet, Nature, and Science, indicating the broad utility of such a system, extending beyond public health practice. Preliminary descriptions of HealthMap have now been published as peer-reviewed articles in the New England Journal of Medicine, the Canadian Medical Association Journal, the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, EuroSurveillance and PLoS Medicine.
Swine Flu News on HealthMap
This article is a part of a series that will be published in the Global Outreach newsletter, "The Network." A pdf version of "The Network" is coming soon!
Developed by the Children’s Hospital Informatics Program (CHIP) at the Harvard Medical School, the HealthMap prototype (HealthMap.org) is an openly available public health intelligence system that brings together disparate data sources to produce a unified and comprehensive view of the current global state of infectious diseases and their effect on human and animal health. HealthMap is a multi-stream and multilingual real-time surveillance platform that continually aggregates reports on new and ongoing infectious disease outbreaks. The system monitors, organizes, integrates, filters, visualizes and disseminates online information about emerging diseases, facilitating knowledge management and early detection. It serves to bring structure to an information flow that would otherwise be overwhelming to the user or obscure important and urgent elements. HealthMap relies on a variety of electronic media sources including online news sources through aggregators such as Google News, expert-curated discussion such as ProMED-mail, and validated official reports from organizations such as the WHO. Currently, the system collects reports from 18 sources, which in turn represent information from over 20,000 Web sites, every hour, 24 hours a day. Internet search criteria include disease names (scientific and common), symptoms, keywords and phrases. The system collects an average of 300 reports per da. HealthMap has processed over 200,000 alerts across 171 disease categories and 202 countries or semi-autonomous/overseas territories since it was launched in October of 2006.
HealthMap is designed to provide a starting point for real-time intelligence on a broad range of emerging infectious diseases for a diverse range of end users, from public health officials to international travelers. The system currently serves as a direct information source for approximately 10,000 unique visitors per day, as well as a resource for libraries, local health departments, governments (e.g., the US Department Health and Human Services and Department of Defense), multinational agencies (e.g., the United Nations) and nonprofit organizations (Wildlife Conservation Society, PBS), which use the HealthMap data stream for day-to-day surveillance activities. Many regular users come from the WHO, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. Through a direct RSS feed, a number of organizations, ranging from local health departments to national organizations such as US Health and Human Services (e.g.: used during the 2008 Democratic and Republican National Conventions), the US Department of Defense, USGS, and the Wildlife Conservation Society all leverage the HealthMap data stream for day-to-day surveillance activities. HealthMap has also been featured in a number of mainstream media and scientific publications, including Wired News, Lancet, Nature, and Science, indicating the broad utility of such a system, extending beyond public health practice. Preliminary descriptions of HealthMap have now been published as peer-reviewed articles in the New England Journal of Medicine, the Canadian Medical Association Journal, the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, EuroSurveillance and PLoS Medicine.
Swine Flu News on HealthMap
30 April 2009
"The Network" Newsletter, Part 3: Syndromic Surveillance in Developing Countries – Literature Search
by Larissa May (MD, MS), Chair, ISDS Education and Training Committee
This article is a part of a series that will be published in the Global Outreach newsletter, "The Network." A pdf version of "The Network" is coming soon!
The commonly established concept of syndromic surveillance in developed regions encompasses the use of pre-diagnostic information in a near real time fashion for further investigation for public health action. Syndromic surveillance is widely used in North America and Europe, and is typically thought of as a highly complex, technology driven automated tool for early detection of outbreaks. Nonetheless, low technology applications of syndromic surveillance are already being used worldwide to augment traditional surveillance, and may improve compliance with the revised International Health Regulations, which require notification of infectious diseases of international health importance, even if the causative agent is unknown.
To review work that is being done in syndromic surveillance in developing areas, we have compiled a collection of peer-reviewed articles and other resources on the use of syndromic surveillance systems in these regions. For the purposes of this list, we have excluded citations from North America and Europe, which as high resource regions use complex, highly automated and technology-intensive systems which have been in existence for a much longer period than the systems being used in less resource rich nations.
Visit the ISDS wiki to view the literature search
This article is a part of a series that will be published in the Global Outreach newsletter, "The Network." A pdf version of "The Network" is coming soon!
The commonly established concept of syndromic surveillance in developed regions encompasses the use of pre-diagnostic information in a near real time fashion for further investigation for public health action. Syndromic surveillance is widely used in North America and Europe, and is typically thought of as a highly complex, technology driven automated tool for early detection of outbreaks. Nonetheless, low technology applications of syndromic surveillance are already being used worldwide to augment traditional surveillance, and may improve compliance with the revised International Health Regulations, which require notification of infectious diseases of international health importance, even if the causative agent is unknown.
To review work that is being done in syndromic surveillance in developing areas, we have compiled a collection of peer-reviewed articles and other resources on the use of syndromic surveillance systems in these regions. For the purposes of this list, we have excluded citations from North America and Europe, which as high resource regions use complex, highly automated and technology-intensive systems which have been in existence for a much longer period than the systems being used in less resource rich nations.
Visit the ISDS wiki to view the literature search
"The Network" Newsletter, Part 2: Lessons in implementation of a disease surveillance system in Peru
by C. Cecilia Mundaca, MD, MPH, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences
This article is a part of a series that will be published in the Global Outreach newsletter, "The Network." A pdf version of "The Network" is coming soon!
While employed at the US Naval Medical Research Center Detachment in Lima, Peru I had the opportunity to lead the implementation of a technology-based disease surveillance system (i.e. Alerta) at sites across the nation. This project was a public-private partnership involving the Peruvian Navy, the US Navy and a private company. Alerta provided the mechanism for reporting of 45 diseases/syndromes via a telephone or a computer with Internet access. It was launched as a pilot project in 2002 and was expanded nationwide in the Peruvian Navy by 2006. Its success led to the incorporation of the Peruvian Army with a total of almost 200 sites in 2007. There were several important lessons that might be of value to others planning a similar experience:
• Securing political commitment early was critical to program success. A Peruvian Navy Surgeon General directive was issued to establish the mandatory nature of the program. The directive was useful to enforce the surveillance duties of healthcare personnel but it also established its priority for their superiors. Consequently, surveillance staff members were allowed access to the limited telecommunications and computer support at the sites.
• Mandatory formal reporting to leadership. To ensure constant support from the Peruvian military leadership, weekly formal reports with the system’s performance and a summary of the diseases’ notified were submitted.
• Pilot sites before broad implementation. Beginning implementation with a pilot phase allowed continuous monitoring of every site, supervision visits to the regional hubs and the early development of evaluation indicators. The small scope allowed for investigation of noncompliant sites.
• Quality assurance site visits. Our team conducted site visits to compare electronic reporting to Alerta with local paper charting. During the visits the team identified and addressed challenges (e.g. use of limited resources, confusion about task) while using the opportunity for immediate training.
• Evaluation metrics were critical. We embraced CDC guidelines to develop indicators designed to measure the system’s usefulness and performance. Our evaluation data were used to refine training material, improve our assessment indicators and also to identify noncompliant sites.
• Initial and ongoing training and technical assistance critical. Our team learned that training was important to motivate the surveillance staff. It was insufficient to train them on how to use the technology tool to report diseases but we needed to offer broad-based training courses on the importance of surveillance, epidemiology of the most prevalent diseases in the area, and the basics of outbreak detection and response. We also supported site outbreak response with technical assistance and laboratory supplies.
• Regular feedback as a motivator. Feedback through the distribution of epidemiological bulletins was also very important. Staff observed how their reporting efforts were translated to useful information for their organization.
• Use of incentives. Our team sent congratulations letters to the surveillance staff of sites with the highest performance. We offered free attendance to continuing education conferences. Promotional materials used pictures of the surveillance staff in action. Cumulatively, the use of incentives to reinforce positive behavior was deemed valuable.
This article is a part of a series that will be published in the Global Outreach newsletter, "The Network." A pdf version of "The Network" is coming soon!
While employed at the US Naval Medical Research Center Detachment in Lima, Peru I had the opportunity to lead the implementation of a technology-based disease surveillance system (i.e. Alerta) at sites across the nation. This project was a public-private partnership involving the Peruvian Navy, the US Navy and a private company. Alerta provided the mechanism for reporting of 45 diseases/syndromes via a telephone or a computer with Internet access. It was launched as a pilot project in 2002 and was expanded nationwide in the Peruvian Navy by 2006. Its success led to the incorporation of the Peruvian Army with a total of almost 200 sites in 2007. There were several important lessons that might be of value to others planning a similar experience:
• Securing political commitment early was critical to program success. A Peruvian Navy Surgeon General directive was issued to establish the mandatory nature of the program. The directive was useful to enforce the surveillance duties of healthcare personnel but it also established its priority for their superiors. Consequently, surveillance staff members were allowed access to the limited telecommunications and computer support at the sites.
• Mandatory formal reporting to leadership. To ensure constant support from the Peruvian military leadership, weekly formal reports with the system’s performance and a summary of the diseases’ notified were submitted.
• Pilot sites before broad implementation. Beginning implementation with a pilot phase allowed continuous monitoring of every site, supervision visits to the regional hubs and the early development of evaluation indicators. The small scope allowed for investigation of noncompliant sites.
• Quality assurance site visits. Our team conducted site visits to compare electronic reporting to Alerta with local paper charting. During the visits the team identified and addressed challenges (e.g. use of limited resources, confusion about task) while using the opportunity for immediate training.
• Evaluation metrics were critical. We embraced CDC guidelines to develop indicators designed to measure the system’s usefulness and performance. Our evaluation data were used to refine training material, improve our assessment indicators and also to identify noncompliant sites.
• Initial and ongoing training and technical assistance critical. Our team learned that training was important to motivate the surveillance staff. It was insufficient to train them on how to use the technology tool to report diseases but we needed to offer broad-based training courses on the importance of surveillance, epidemiology of the most prevalent diseases in the area, and the basics of outbreak detection and response. We also supported site outbreak response with technical assistance and laboratory supplies.
• Regular feedback as a motivator. Feedback through the distribution of epidemiological bulletins was also very important. Staff observed how their reporting efforts were translated to useful information for their organization.
• Use of incentives. Our team sent congratulations letters to the surveillance staff of sites with the highest performance. We offered free attendance to continuing education conferences. Promotional materials used pictures of the surveillance staff in action. Cumulatively, the use of incentives to reinforce positive behavior was deemed valuable.
27 April 2009
BioSecure 2009
BioSecure 2009
Biosurveillance and Biosecurity Workshop: International Perspectives
Taipei, Semptember 24-25, 2009
More information
The 2009 Biosurveillance and Biosecurity Workshop (BioSecure 09) will continue the annual biosurveillance and biosecurity workshop series, with technical co-sponsorship from ISDS. BioSecure 09 will be held in Taipei hosted by the Taiwan National University; it will be the first time this workshop is held in the Asia-Pacific region.
The key objectives of Biosecure 09 are: (a) fostering collaboration between biosurveillance and biosecurity researchers and practitioners in Asia-Pacific countries and the rest of the world, (b) sharing international perspectives of biosurveillance practice, (c) discussing international data sources, and (d) promoting cross-cutting research among public health and computer/information sciences research communities.
Paper submissions are due on June 10, 2009. Long (12 pages), short (6 pages) papers, and extended abstracts (2 pages) may be submitted electronically via the workshop website. A formal publication with the Springer Lecture Notes in Computer Science series (Bioinformatics sub-series) is planned.
Biosurveillance and Biosecurity Workshop: International Perspectives
Taipei, Semptember 24-25, 2009
More information
The 2009 Biosurveillance and Biosecurity Workshop (BioSecure 09) will continue the annual biosurveillance and biosecurity workshop series, with technical co-sponsorship from ISDS. BioSecure 09 will be held in Taipei hosted by the Taiwan National University; it will be the first time this workshop is held in the Asia-Pacific region.
The key objectives of Biosecure 09 are: (a) fostering collaboration between biosurveillance and biosecurity researchers and practitioners in Asia-Pacific countries and the rest of the world, (b) sharing international perspectives of biosurveillance practice, (c) discussing international data sources, and (d) promoting cross-cutting research among public health and computer/information sciences research communities.
Paper submissions are due on June 10, 2009. Long (12 pages), short (6 pages) papers, and extended abstracts (2 pages) may be submitted electronically via the workshop website. A formal publication with the Springer Lecture Notes in Computer Science series (Bioinformatics sub-series) is planned.
23 April 2009
April Literature Summaries Now Available
Summaries of the articles discussed on today's Literature Review call can now be found on the ISDS wiki, along with a copy of Dr. Marianne Frisén's presentation.
The next Literature Review will take place on Wednesday, May 27th at 10:00 am EDT.
Looking ahead to June, Anette Hulth and her colleagues of the Swedish Institute for Infectious Disease Control have accepted the invitation to present their paper entitled "Web Queries as a Source for Syndromic Surveillance." The presentation will take place on Thursday, June 18th at 10:00 am EDT.
The next Literature Review will take place on Wednesday, May 27th at 10:00 am EDT.
Looking ahead to June, Anette Hulth and her colleagues of the Swedish Institute for Infectious Disease Control have accepted the invitation to present their paper entitled "Web Queries as a Source for Syndromic Surveillance." The presentation will take place on Thursday, June 18th at 10:00 am EDT.
21 April 2009
How to Receive Notifications from the ISDS Wiki
As a part of its monthly Literature Review, the Research Committee is hoping to start wiki based discussions centered around the presentations and papers of invited speakers.
In an initiative to more actively engage Society members in wiki discussion threads, ISDS has created a document with instructions on how to subscribe to notifications indicating when changes have been made.
When choosing to receive notifications, several options are available:
Type of information:
-Discussion changes (recommended)
-Page changes (any edits that are made)
-All changes
Notification method:
-Email
-Page Feeds (RSS)
In addition to highlighting the wiki subscription methods, the instructions also contain a section on choosing and configuring an RSS reader. Any one of the various RSS readers will also allow you to subscribe to a feed for this blog, or for the ISDS Twitter account.
To download a pdf of the instructions, please visit the ISDS Wikispaces page.
In an initiative to more actively engage Society members in wiki discussion threads, ISDS has created a document with instructions on how to subscribe to notifications indicating when changes have been made.
When choosing to receive notifications, several options are available:
Type of information:
-Discussion changes (recommended)
-Page changes (any edits that are made)
-All changes
Notification method:
-Page Feeds (RSS)
In addition to highlighting the wiki subscription methods, the instructions also contain a section on choosing and configuring an RSS reader. Any one of the various RSS readers will also allow you to subscribe to a feed for this blog, or for the ISDS Twitter account.
To download a pdf of the instructions, please visit the ISDS Wikispaces page.
16 April 2009
Education and Training Committee Meeting
When: Thursday, April 16th at 1:00 pm EDT.
Agenda:
1. Pre-conference workshop planning (selection of track chairs, format, inclusion of syndromic 101 session)
2. Expansion of syndromic 101 course
3. Inclusion on our WIKI of some epi materials provided by the Global Outreach Committee
Discussion:
1. Planning for the 2009 pre-conference workshop is under way. Currently, the ETC is in the process of selecting a program committee and deciding on the workshop format. It is hoped that this year's workshop will be more interactive, and include an introductory syndromic surveillance lecture at the beginning of the day. This year, the workshop will be held off-site at the Miami Dade County Health Department.
2. As a collaboration with the Global Outreach Committee, Larissa May is working to make an ISDR training tool and a surveillance cost tool available to the Society.
Next meeting:
The next Education and Training Committee meeting will take place on Monday, May 11th at 1:00 pm EDT.
Agenda:
1. Pre-conference workshop planning (selection of track chairs, format, inclusion of syndromic 101 session)
2. Expansion of syndromic 101 course
3. Inclusion on our WIKI of some epi materials provided by the Global Outreach Committee
Discussion:
1. Planning for the 2009 pre-conference workshop is under way. Currently, the ETC is in the process of selecting a program committee and deciding on the workshop format. It is hoped that this year's workshop will be more interactive, and include an introductory syndromic surveillance lecture at the beginning of the day. This year, the workshop will be held off-site at the Miami Dade County Health Department.
2. As a collaboration with the Global Outreach Committee, Larissa May is working to make an ISDR training tool and a surveillance cost tool available to the Society.
Next meeting:
The next Education and Training Committee meeting will take place on Monday, May 11th at 1:00 pm EDT.
April Literature Review Webinar Registration Info
ISDS April Literature Review
Join us for a Webinar on April 23
Space is limited. Reserve your seat here:
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/455415162
The Research Committee will be holding its monthly Literature Review on Thursday, April 23rd 2009 at 10:00 am EDT. This month, Professor Marianne Frisén of the University of Gothenburg has been invited to present her recent article, "Robust outbreak surveillance of epidemics in Sweden."
The first 30 minutes of the call will be spent discussing the month's article summaries, and then Prof. Frisén will make her presentation followed by a discussion, starting promptly at 10:30 am EDT.
Title: ISDS April Literature Review
Date: Thursday, April 23, 2009
Time: 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM EDT
After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.
System Requirements
PC-based attendees
Required: Windows® 2000, XP Home, XP Pro, 2003 Server, Vista
Macintosh®-based attendees
Required: Mac OS® X 10.4 (Tiger®) or newer
Join us for a Webinar on April 23
Space is limited. Reserve your seat here:
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/455415162
The Research Committee will be holding its monthly Literature Review on Thursday, April 23rd 2009 at 10:00 am EDT. This month, Professor Marianne Frisén of the University of Gothenburg has been invited to present her recent article, "Robust outbreak surveillance of epidemics in Sweden."
The first 30 minutes of the call will be spent discussing the month's article summaries, and then Prof. Frisén will make her presentation followed by a discussion, starting promptly at 10:30 am EDT.
Title: ISDS April Literature Review
Date: Thursday, April 23, 2009
Time: 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM EDT
After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.
System Requirements
PC-based attendees
Required: Windows® 2000, XP Home, XP Pro, 2003 Server, Vista
Macintosh®-based attendees
Required: Mac OS® X 10.4 (Tiger®) or newer
09 April 2009
Articles for April Literature Review
The Research Committee will be holding its monthly Literature Review on Thursday, April 23rd 2009 at 10:00 am EDT. This month, Professor Marianne Frisén of the University of Gothenburg has been invited to present her recent article, "Robust outbreak surveillance of epidemics in Sweden."
The first 30 minutes of the call will be spent discussing the month's article summaries, and then Prof. Frisén will make her presentation followed by a discussion, starting promptly at 10:30 am EDT.
Below are recent selections from our PubCrawler search, which are collected by the Research Committee's gmail account. To download pdf versions of the articles, Committee members are invited to log in to the account. Please see the following contact information to get the gmail account details.
Please email your input on any selected articles by April 22, 2009 to rviola@syndromic.org.
As always, this call is optional for contributors but is an opportunity to help, express concerns, and make suggestions.
Please note any articles of high quality and broad appeal for inviting the authors for online presentation or for consideration for ISDS recognition in its annual awards.
To clarify the process for our growing list of participants, the submissions should be brief structured summaries rather than formal reviews. Submit a summary only if you feel that the article is worthy of posting.
_____________________________________________
01Apr2009
Tokars JI, Burkom H, Xing J, English R, Bloom S, Cox K, Pavlin JA.
Enhancing Time-Series Detection Algorithms for Automated Biosurveillance.
Emerg Infect Dis. 2009 Apr;15(4):533-539.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov:80/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&dopt=Abstract&db=PubMed&list_uids=19331728
Eysenbach G.
Infodemiology and infoveillance: framework for an emerging set of public health informatics methods to analyze search, communication and publication behavior on the Internet.
J Med Internet Res. 2009 Mar 27;11(1):e11
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov:80/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&dopt=Abstract&db=PubMed&list_uids=19329408
26Mar2009
Yli-Hietanen J, Niiranen S, Aswell M, Nathanson L.
Domain-specific analytical language modeling-The chief complaint as a case study.
Int J Med Inform. 2009 Mar 21;.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov:80/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&dopt=Abstract&db=PubMed&list_uids=19307149
12Mar2009
Huaman MA, Araujo-Castillo RV, Soto G, Neyra JM, Quispe JA, Fernandez MF, Mundaca CC, Blazes DL., Impact of two interventions on timeliness and data quality of an electronic disease surveillance system in a resource limited setting (Peru): a prospective evaluation.
BMC Med Inform Decis Mak. 2009 Mar 10;9(1):16.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov:80/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&dopt=Abstract&db=PubMed&list_uids=19272165
10Mar2009
Gault G, Larrieu S, Durand C, Josseran L, Jouves B, Filleul L.
Performance of a syndromic system for influenza based on the activity of general practitioners, France. J Public Health (Oxf). 2009 Mar 5;. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov:80/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&dopt=Abstract&db=PubMed&list_uids=19269992
Deepa TM, Venkata Rao E, Patil RR, Samuel R.
Operational feasibility of establishing community reporting systems.
Natl Med J India. 2008 Jul-Aug;21(4):166-70.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov:80/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&dopt=Abstract&db=PubMed&list_uids=19267036
06Mar2009
Hripcsak G, Soulakis ND, Li L, Morrison FP, Lai AM, Friedman C, Calman NS, Mostashari F., Syndromic Surveillance Using Ambulatory Electronic Health Records.
J Am Med Inform Assoc. 2009 Mar 4;. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov:80/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&dopt=Abstract&db=PubMed&list_uids=19261941
The first 30 minutes of the call will be spent discussing the month's article summaries, and then Prof. Frisén will make her presentation followed by a discussion, starting promptly at 10:30 am EDT.
Below are recent selections from our PubCrawler search, which are collected by the Research Committee's gmail account. To download pdf versions of the articles, Committee members are invited to log in to the account. Please see the following contact information to get the gmail account details.
Please email your input on any selected articles by April 22, 2009 to rviola@syndromic.org.
As always, this call is optional for contributors but is an opportunity to help, express concerns, and make suggestions.
Please note any articles of high quality and broad appeal for inviting the authors for online presentation or for consideration for ISDS recognition in its annual awards.
To clarify the process for our growing list of participants, the submissions should be brief structured summaries rather than formal reviews. Submit a summary only if you feel that the article is worthy of posting.
_____________________________________________
01Apr2009
Tokars JI, Burkom H, Xing J, English R, Bloom S, Cox K, Pavlin JA.
Enhancing Time-Series Detection Algorithms for Automated Biosurveillance.
Emerg Infect Dis. 2009 Apr;15(4):533-539.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov:80/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&dopt=Abstract&db=PubMed&list_uids=19331728
Eysenbach G.
Infodemiology and infoveillance: framework for an emerging set of public health informatics methods to analyze search, communication and publication behavior on the Internet.
J Med Internet Res. 2009 Mar 27;11(1):e11
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov:80/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&dopt=Abstract&db=PubMed&list_uids=19329408
26Mar2009
Yli-Hietanen J, Niiranen S, Aswell M, Nathanson L.
Domain-specific analytical language modeling-The chief complaint as a case study.
Int J Med Inform. 2009 Mar 21;.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov:80/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&dopt=Abstract&db=PubMed&list_uids=19307149
12Mar2009
Huaman MA, Araujo-Castillo RV, Soto G, Neyra JM, Quispe JA, Fernandez MF, Mundaca CC, Blazes DL., Impact of two interventions on timeliness and data quality of an electronic disease surveillance system in a resource limited setting (Peru): a prospective evaluation.
BMC Med Inform Decis Mak. 2009 Mar 10;9(1):16.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov:80/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&dopt=Abstract&db=PubMed&list_uids=19272165
10Mar2009
Gault G, Larrieu S, Durand C, Josseran L, Jouves B, Filleul L.
Performance of a syndromic system for influenza based on the activity of general practitioners, France. J Public Health (Oxf). 2009 Mar 5;. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov:80/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&dopt=Abstract&db=PubMed&list_uids=19269992
Deepa TM, Venkata Rao E, Patil RR, Samuel R.
Operational feasibility of establishing community reporting systems.
Natl Med J India. 2008 Jul-Aug;21(4):166-70.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov:80/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&dopt=Abstract&db=PubMed&list_uids=19267036
06Mar2009
Hripcsak G, Soulakis ND, Li L, Morrison FP, Lai AM, Friedman C, Calman NS, Mostashari F., Syndromic Surveillance Using Ambulatory Electronic Health Records.
J Am Med Inform Assoc. 2009 Mar 4;. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov:80/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&dopt=Abstract&db=PubMed&list_uids=19261941
02 April 2009
April Global Outreach Committee Meeting
When: Thursday, April 2nd, 10:00 am EDT
Agenda:
1. Expertise database
2. “The Network” newsletter
3. DiSTRIBuTE (influenza surveillance)
4. Webpages
5. Funding opportunity - http://www.fic.nih.gov/recovery/challenge/ict.htm
6. Public Health/Research webinar
7. Any other business
8. Next meeting
Discussion:
1. DiSTRIBuTE - Until now, DiSTRIBuTE has been a US-focused project, but the goal is to expand to international sites in the next phase. By next flu season, hopefully international data should be incorporated. However, there are still some barriers in sharing data that must be resolved. There are 7-8 countries in the European Union that may be interested in participating, and could start the proof-of-concept phase in Europe. Don Olson will be starting an email conversation soon to recruit international participants.
2. NIH Challenge Grant (see link above)- The Committee discussed how the DiSTRIBuTE project might fit within the grant parameters. In the coming weeks Don Olson will look more closely at the grant to assess how the DiSTRIBuTE project could be linked with a low income country, and existing NIH grant participant. The GOC will then be in a stronger position to foster help for the bid.
3. Newsletter - The Committee is getting ready to publish the next issue of its newsletter, "The Network." Several articles have been submitted, and are currently being translated into French and Spanish by some Committee volunteers. The final version will be sent around as a pdf.
4. RC/PHPC Webinar - Duncan Cooper suggested that the GOC submit a few joint abstracts for the May 28 webinar. Some of the Committee members are submitting individual abstracts as well.
5. Survey for Expertise Database - Sheri Lewis has been helping to develop the GO survey. The goal of the survey is to collect information about the type of work that ISDS members are doing in order to build a database.
Next meeting:
Tuesday, June 2nd, 10:00 am EDT
Agenda:
1. Expertise database
2. “The Network” newsletter
3. DiSTRIBuTE (influenza surveillance)
4. Webpages
5. Funding opportunity - http://www.fic.nih.gov/recovery/challenge/ict.htm
6. Public Health/Research webinar
7. Any other business
8. Next meeting
Discussion:
1. DiSTRIBuTE - Until now, DiSTRIBuTE has been a US-focused project, but the goal is to expand to international sites in the next phase. By next flu season, hopefully international data should be incorporated. However, there are still some barriers in sharing data that must be resolved. There are 7-8 countries in the European Union that may be interested in participating, and could start the proof-of-concept phase in Europe. Don Olson will be starting an email conversation soon to recruit international participants.
2. NIH Challenge Grant (see link above)- The Committee discussed how the DiSTRIBuTE project might fit within the grant parameters. In the coming weeks Don Olson will look more closely at the grant to assess how the DiSTRIBuTE project could be linked with a low income country, and existing NIH grant participant. The GOC will then be in a stronger position to foster help for the bid.
3. Newsletter - The Committee is getting ready to publish the next issue of its newsletter, "The Network." Several articles have been submitted, and are currently being translated into French and Spanish by some Committee volunteers. The final version will be sent around as a pdf.
4. RC/PHPC Webinar - Duncan Cooper suggested that the GOC submit a few joint abstracts for the May 28 webinar. Some of the Committee members are submitting individual abstracts as well.
5. Survey for Expertise Database - Sheri Lewis has been helping to develop the GO survey. The goal of the survey is to collect information about the type of work that ISDS members are doing in order to build a database.
Next meeting:
Tuesday, June 2nd, 10:00 am EDT
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