Epidemiology: Open Access
Open Access

Abstract

T he world has undergone many rapid changesincluding demographic explosion, population movement, increasein international transportation, emergence of new pathogens, and introduction of the threat of bioterrorism. To respond to this new environment, the International Health Regulations were revised in 2005: they expanded usual infectious disease notification to include surveillance for public health events of various origins; they promptedMember States(MS) to adopt multisectoral approaches through partnerships for effective alert and response systems; they requested countries to strengthen capacities for the rapid detection ofpublic-health risks, prompt risk assessment, and notification and response to these risks. To this end, a sensitive and flexible surveillance system with an early warning function is needed. MS have developed national surveillance systems that usually rely on information collected in health facilities. However, they also need to develop procedures for collecting and analyzing information from other sources than the health system (i) before a health event occurs (alert) or is identified (syndromes), (ii) not related to communicable diseases, or (iii) coming from places where populations have little or delayed access to the health system. Implementation of this type of procedures (event-based surveillance - EBS) is regularly requested by WHO MS. In order to respond to this demand, WHO is developing a practical guide to implementing EBS for early detection and assessment of public health events. This guide will provide the rationale for strengthening surveillance systems, define the terms used for surveillance, identify non health sources of information (eg media screening, community based information), and processes of transmission and analysis, and will propose procedures for the acquisition and maintenance of early warning functions.

Biography

Pierre Nabeth graduated as a Medical Doctor from the University of Paris, France, with a specialization in biostatistics and epidemiology. He worked for medical NGOs, Ministries of Health, and research agencies. He has gained a large experience in the management of health systems, implementation of surveillance systems, and control of outbreaks. He is currently working at WHO, leading a team providing support to countries in epidemiological surveillance and field epidemiology training, in the scope of the IHR. His current projects concern the development of guidance on surveillance (early warning, event based, at points of entry), and for the strengthening of human resources in field epidemiology