Syndromic Surveillance and Bioterrorism-related Epidemics

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: James W Buehler, Emory University; Ruth L Berkelman, Emory University; David M. Hartley, University Of Maryland School of Medicine; Clarence J. Peters, University of Texas Medical Branch
• Language: English
• Date: 2003-10
• Publisher: U.S. National Center for Infectious Diseases
• Publication Version: Final Published Version
• Copyright Statement: Emerging Infectious Diseases is published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a U.S. Government agency. Therefore, all materials published in Emerging Infectious Diseases are in the public domain and can be used without permission.
• Final Published Version (URL): http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/9/10/03-0231_article.htm
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: Emerging Infectious Diseases
• ISSN: 1080-6040
• Volume: 9
• Issue: 10
• Start Page: 1197
• End Page: 1204
• Grant/Funding Information: Drs. Buehler and Berkelman were supported in part by a grant from the O. Wayne Rollins Foundation.
• Research Categories: Health Sciences, Epidemiology; Health Sciences, Public Health

Abstract

To facilitate rapid detection of a future bioterrorist attack, an increasing number of public health departments are investing in new surveillance systems that target the early manifestations of bioterrorism-related disease. Whether this approach is likely to detect an epidemic sooner than reporting by alert clinicians remains unknown. The detection of a bioterrorism-related epidemic will depend on population characteristics, availability and use of health services, the nature of an attack, epidemiologic features of individual diseases, surveillance methods, and the capacity of health departments to respond to alerts. Predicting how these factors will combine in a bioterrorism attack may be impossible. Nevertheless, understanding their likely effect on epidemic detection should help define the usefulness of syndromic surveillance and identify approaches to increasing the likelihood that clinicians recognize and report an epidemic.