Redefining syndromic surveillance

Rebecca Katz; Larissa May; Julia Baker; Elisa Test

doi:10.1016/j.jegh.2011.06.003

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Volume 1, Issue 1, December 2011, Pages 21 - 31

Redefining syndromic surveillance

Authors

Rebecca Katz^a^{, *}^,rlkatz@gwu.edu, Larissa May^b^,lmay@mfa.gwu.edu, Julia Baker^a^,juliab@gwmail.gwu.edu, Elisa Test^a^,etest@gwmail.gwu.edu

^aSchool of Public Health and Health Services, George Washington University, 2021 K Street, NW, Suite 800, Washington, DC 20006, USA

^bDepartment of Emergency Medicine, George Washington University, 2150 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Suite 2B, Washington, DC 20037, USA

^*Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 202 994 4179; fax: +1 202 994 4040.

Corresponding Author

Rebecca Katzrlkatz@gwu.edu

Received 8 March 2011, Revised 31 May 2011, Accepted 2 June 2011, Available Online 28 July 2011.

DOI: 10.1016/j.jegh.2011.06.003 How to use a DOI?
Keywords: Biosurveillance; Epidemiology; Disease outbreaks; Population surveillance; Syndrome; Syndromic surveillance
Abstract: With growing concerns about international spread of disease and expanding use of early disease detection surveillance methods, the field of syndromic surveillance has received increased attention over the last decade. The purpose of this article is to clarify the various meanings that have been assigned to the term syndromic surveillance and to propose a refined categorization of the characteristics of these systems. Existing literature and conference proceedings were examined on syndromic surveillance from 1998 to 2010, focusing on low- and middle-income settings. Based on the 36 unique definitions of syndromic surveillance found in the literature, five commonly accepted principles of syndromic surveillance systems were identified, as well as two fundamental categories: specific and non-specific disease detection. Ultimately, the proposed categorization of syndromic surveillance distinguishes between systems that focus on detecting defined syndromes or outcomes of interest and those that aim to uncover non-specific trends that suggest an outbreak may be occurring. By providing an accurate and comprehensive picture of this field’s capabilities, and differentiating among system types, a unified understanding of the syndromic surveillance field can be developed, encouraging the adoption, investment in, and implementation of these systems in settings that need bolstered surveillance capacity, particularly low- and middle-income countries.
Copyright: © 2011 Ministry of Health, Saudi Arabia. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
Open Access: This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

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Journal: Journal of Epidemiology and Global Health
Volume-Issue: 1 - 1
Pages: 21 - 31
Publication Date: 2011/07/28
ISSN (Online): 2210-6014
ISSN (Print): 2210-6006
DOI: 10.1016/j.jegh.2011.06.003 How to use a DOI?
Open Access: This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

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ris enw bib

TY  - JOUR
AU  - Rebecca Katz
AU  - Larissa May
AU  - Julia Baker
AU  - Elisa Test
PY  - 2011
DA  - 2011/07/28
TI  - Redefining syndromic surveillance
JO  - Journal of Epidemiology and Global Health
SP  - 21
EP  - 31
VL  - 1
IS  - 1
SN  - 2210-6014
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jegh.2011.06.003
DO  - 10.1016/j.jegh.2011.06.003
ID  - Katz2011
ER  -

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