Background and objective: During the influenza pandemic 2009/2010 and the outbreak of entero-haemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC)/hemolytic-uremic syndrome (HUS) 2011, the statutory reporting system in Germany was complemented by additional event-related surveillance systems in hospitals. The Pandemic Influenza Hospital Surveillance (PIKS) and the Surveillance of Bloody Diarrhea (SBD) were evaluated, to make experiences available for similar future situations.
Methods: The description and evaluation of our surveillance systems is based on the "Updated Guidelines for Evaluating Public Health Surveillance Systems" published by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2001.
Results: PIKS and SBD could be implemented quickly and were able to capture resilient data in a timely manner both on the severity and course of the influenza pandemic 2009/2010 and the outbreak of EHEC and HUS 2011. Although lacking in representativeness, sensitive and useful data were generated.
Conclusion: In large outbreaks of severe diseases, the establishment of specific hospital surveillance should be considered as early as possible. In Germany, the participating hospitals were able to rapidly implement the required measures.
© Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.