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Real-Time Public Health Biosurveillance

Systems and Policy Considerations

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Infectious Disease Informatics and Biosurveillance

Part of the book series: Integrated Series in Information Systems ((ISIS,volume 27))

Chapter Overview

Biosurveillance includes all efforts by public health officials to capture and interpret information about hazards and threats of public health significance, including naturally occurring outbreaks of diseases, reportable conditions and syndromes, occurrences of zoonotic diseases, environmental exposures, natural disasters, and conditions caused by acts of terrorism. Partnerships, such as those between governments and the private sector, non-governmental organizations, healthcare providers, public utilities, and the veterinary medicine community, are a critical component of a comprehensive approach to biosurveillance. Partnerships allow for the collection of data from diverse sources and allow for the inclusion of a range of stakeholders. However, establishing biosurveillance systems with the capacity to quickly collect, analyze and exchange diverse types of data across stakeholder groups is not without practical, technological, political, legal, and ethical challenges. This chapter first explores recent biosurveillance efforts, then examines the legal and policy structure and considerations associated with biosurveillance efforts, and finally provides a framework for considering the needs of stakeholders in the development of new biosurveillance systems.

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Suggested Reading

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Online Resources

  1. BioSense Website (http://www.cdc.gov/BioSense/)

  2. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Website (http://www.cdc.gov)

  3. Health Level-7 Messaging Website (http://www.hl7.org/)

  4. International Health Regulations Website (http://www.who.int/csr/ihr/wha_58_3/en/index.html)

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Office of Critical Information Integration and Exchange, National Center for Zoonotic, Enteric, and Vector-borne Diseases, Centers for Disease Prevention and Control, MS-D68, 1600 Clifton Road, Atlanta, GA, 30333, USA

    Henry Rolka

Authors
  1. Henry Rolka
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  2. Jean O’Connor
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Henry Rolka .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. Mathematics & Statistics, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA

    Carlos Castillo-Chavez

  2. Eller College of Management, University of Arizona, E. Helen St. 1130, Tucson, 85721, Arizona, USA

    Hsinchun Chen

  3. Health Sciences Center, University of Washington, NE. Pacific St. 1959, Seattle, 98195, Washington, USA

    William B. Lober

  4. School of Veterinary Medicine, Dept. Medicine & Epidemiology, University of California, Davis, Shields Avenue 1, Davis, 95616, California, USA

    Mark Thurmond

  5. Eller College of Management, Dept. Management Information Systems, University of Arizona, Tucson, 85721, Arizona, USA

    Daniel Zeng

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Rolka, H., O’Connor, J. (2011). Real-Time Public Health Biosurveillance. In: Castillo-Chavez, C., Chen, H., Lober, W., Thurmond, M., Zeng, D. (eds) Infectious Disease Informatics and Biosurveillance. Integrated Series in Information Systems, vol 27. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-6892-0_1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-6892-0_1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4419-6891-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4419-6892-0

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