Vetsyn: An R package for veterinary syndromic surveillance

Area of Science:

• Veterinary epidemiology
• Public health informatics
• Data science in animal health

Background:

• Current veterinary syndromic surveillance (VSS) development faces challenges, including lack of standardized disease recording and appropriate statistical methods.
• Few VSS systems demonstrate success beyond the development or exploratory data analysis phase.

Purpose of the Study:

• To address challenges in statistical methods and tool development for VSS.
• To provide ready-to-use R code for automating the conversion of classified animal health data into epidemiological information.
• To facilitate the practical implementation of VSS systems for veterinary professionals.

Main Methods:

• Development of an R package named 'vetsyn'.
• The package integrates data classification, statistical analysis, and user interface functionalities.
• Includes tutorials and is illustrated with real and simulated outbreak data.

Main Results:

• The 'vetsyn' package automates the VSS implementation process.
• It enables continuous management of data streams, analyses, alarms, and user interfaces.
• Functions for daily and weekly data monitoring are available.

Conclusions:

• The 'vetsyn' R package addresses key challenges in VSS implementation.
• It provides a practical, automated solution for converting animal health data into actionable epidemiological information.
• Expected to significantly facilitate the adoption and effectiveness of VSS systems globally.