New digital technologies for the surveillance of infectious diseases at mass gathering events

E O Nsoesie; S A Kluberg; S R Mekaru; M S Majumder; K Khan; S I Hay; J S Brownstein

doi:10.1016/j.cmi.2014.12.017

New digital technologies for the surveillance of infectious diseases at mass gathering events

Clin Microbiol Infect. 2015 Feb;21(2):134-40. doi: 10.1016/j.cmi.2014.12.017. Epub 2014 Dec 31.

Authors

E O Nsoesie¹, S A Kluberg², S R Mekaru², M S Majumder³, K Khan⁴, S I Hay⁵, J S Brownstein⁶

Affiliations

¹ Children's Hospital Informatics Program, Boston Children's Hospital, MA, USA; Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA. Electronic address: [email protected].
² Children's Hospital Informatics Program, Boston Children's Hospital, MA, USA.
³ Children's Hospital Informatics Program, Boston Children's Hospital, MA, USA; Engineering Systems Division, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA.
⁴ Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, St Michael's Hospital, Toronto, ON, Canada.
⁵ Spatial Ecology and Epidemiology Group, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK; Fogarty International Center, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
⁶ Children's Hospital Informatics Program, Boston Children's Hospital, MA, USA; Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Occupational Health, McGill University, Montreal, Canada.

Abstract

Outbreaks of infectious diseases at mass gatherings can strain the health system of the host region and pose a threat to local and global health. In addition to strengthening existing surveillance systems, most host nations also use novel technologies to assess disease risk and augment traditional surveillance approaches. We review novel approaches to disease surveillance using the Internet, mobile phone applications, and wireless sensor networks. These novel approaches to disease surveillance can result in prompt detection.

Keywords: Communicable diseases; Internet; mass gatherings; novel technologies; wireless sensor networks.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Cell Phone
Communicable Diseases / epidemiology*
Communicable Diseases / transmission*
Data Collection*
Electronic Data Processing*
Epidemiological Monitoring*
Humans
Infection Control / methods*
Internet
Wireless Technology

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

Grants and funding