Disease Surveillance (PDF)

An up-to-date and comprehensive treatment of biosurveillance
techniques

With the worldwide awareness of bioterrorism and drug-resistant
infectious diseases, the need for surveillance systems to
accurately detect emerging epidemicsis essential for maintaining
global safety. Responding to these issues, Disease Surveillance
brings together fifteen eminent researchers in the fields of
medicine, epidemiology, biostatistics, and medical informatics to
define the necessary elements of an effective disease surveillance
program, including research, development, implementation, and
operations. The surveillance systems and techniques presented in
the text are designed to best utilize modern technology, manage
emerging public health threats, and adapt to environmental
changes.

Following a historical overview detailing the need for disease
surveillance systems, the text is divided into the following three
parts:

* Part One sets forth the informatics knowledge needed to
implement a disease surveillance system, including a discussion of
data sources currently used in syndromic surveillance systems.

* Part Two provides case studies of modern disease surveillance
systems, including cases that highlight implementation and
operational difficulties as well as the successes experienced by
health departments in the United States, Canada, Europe, and
Asia.

* Part Three addresses practical issues concerning the evaluation
of disease surveillance systems and the education of future
informatics and disease surveillance practitioners. It also
assesses how future technology will shape the field of disease
surveillance.

This book's multidisciplinary approach is ideal for public
health professionals who need to understand all the facets within a
disease surveillance program and implement the technology needed to
support surveillance activities. An outline of the components
needed for a successful disease surveillance system combined with
extensive use of case studies makes this book well-suited as a
textbook for public health informatics courses