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EPIMIC: A Simple Homemade Computer Program for Real-Time EPIdemiological Surveillance and Alert Based on
Philippe Colson1,2, Jean-Marc Rolain1,2, Cédric Abat2
1Institut Hospitalo-Universitaire (IHU) Méditerranée Infection, Pôle des Maladies Infectieuses et Tropicales Clinique et Biologique, Fédération de Bactériologie-Hygiène-Virologie, Centre Hospitalo-Universitaire Timone, Assistance publique-hôpitaux de Marseille, 264 rue Saint-Pierre, 13385, Marseille, cedex 05, France.
Plos One
|December 15, 2015
Summary
EPIMIC, a homemade tool, provides real-time automated surveillance for infectious diseases (IDs) in clinical microbiology labs. This system efficiently detects abnormal events, enhancing ID monitoring and public health.
Area of Science:
- Medical Microbiology
- Epidemiology
- Public Health Surveillance
Background:
- Infectious diseases (IDs) pose significant global health challenges, necessitating robust surveillance systems.
- Effective surveillance is crucial for managing morbidity and mortality associated with infectious diseases.
Purpose of the Study:
- To introduce EPIMIC, a novel, user-friendly tool for real-time, automated surveillance of infectious diseases.
- To assess the efficiency of EPIMIC in a university hospital clinical microbiology laboratory setting.
Main Methods:
- EPIMIC utilizes Microsoft Excel for automated data analysis, requiring no specialized skills.
- The system identifies abnormal events by detecting deviations from historical data (mean ± 2 standard deviations).
- Weekly surveillance of clinical samples, pathogens, diagnostic tests, and antimicrobial resistance patterns was conducted.
Main Results:
- Over 11 years, EPIMIC surveyed 293 items, analyzing 1,390,689 samples and detecting 172,180 positive pathogen results.
- The system generated an average of 0.5 alerts per week for abnormal events.
- Extensive data, including counts for clinical samples and diagnoses, were systematically recorded.
Conclusions:
- EPIMIC demonstrates high efficiency for real-time, automated, laboratory-based infectious disease surveillance.
- The tool is suitable for clinical microbiology laboratories and aids in timely alerting.
- EPIMIC is freely available for download, promoting wider adoption in infectious disease monitoring.
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