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Identifying potential emerging threats through epidemic intelligence activities-looking for the needle in the
Jennifer Wilburn1, Catherine O'Connor1, Amanda L Walsh1
1Public Health England, 61 Colindale Avenue, Colindale, NW9 5EQ, United Kingdom.
Summary
Public Health England's manual epidemic intelligence (EI) system effectively identified emerging infectious diseases early. This surveillance approach detected major global health threats before official reports, demonstrating its value in public health.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Infectious Disease Epidemiology
- Global Health Security
Background:
- Epidemic intelligence (EI) is crucial for identifying emerging infectious diseases and specific incidents.
- Automated surveillance systems require human input for validation and interpretation.
- This study examined Public Health England's (PHE) manual event-based EI system.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the effectiveness of PHE's manual EI surveillance system.
- To inform future epidemic intelligence gathering activities.
Main Methods:
- A descriptive analysis of unique events in a database from 2013 to 2017.
- In-depth description of the top five diseases by entry count.
- Comparison of PHE's EI system effectiveness against other sources.
Main Results:
- 22,847 unique entries were recorded between 2013 and 2017.
- Ebola, Zika, and Middle East respiratory syndrome were among the most frequent entries.
- The manual EI system detected major outbreaks before official public reporting.
Conclusions:
- PHE's manual EI process demonstrated rapid and accurate detection of global public health threats.
- The system effectively monitored evolving infectious disease events at early stages.
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