The "SentiWeb" method for exploring a database on the Net

Return of information is one of the main goals of any public health information system. About 25,000 maps and 10,000 graphs may be obtained from the time-series collected in the database of the French Communicable Diseases Network (FCDN). Furthermore, this huge epidemiological atlas is updated each week. What is the optimal way of returning such information? This report discloses the strategies used for enhancing the access facilities to the FCDN database for any users, particularly those without specific training in epidemiology or database query language. The technical options implemented in the SentiWeb server (http:/(/)www.b3e.jussieu.fr) are discussed.