Rumors of disease in the global village: outbreak verification.
Emerging infectious diseases and the growth of information technology have produced new demands and possibilities for disease surveillance and response. Increasing numbers of outbreak reports must be assessed rapidly so that control efforts can be initiated and unsubstantiated reports can be identified to protect countries from unnecessary economic damage. The World Health Organization has set up a process for timely outbreak verification to convert large amounts of data into accurate information for suitable action. We describe the context and processes of outbreak verification and information dissemination.
Grein
T W
TW
Department of Communicable Disease Surveillance and Response, World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland. greint@who.int
Kamara
K B
KB
Rodier
G
G
Plant
A J
AJ
Bovier
P
P
Ryan
M J
MJ
Ohyama
T
T
Heymann
D L
DL
D003140:Communicable Disease Control; D003141:Communicable Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D006801:Humans; D007255:Information Services; D011634:Public Health; D014944:World Health Organization