Automated syndromic surveillance for the 2002 Winter Olympics.
The 2002 Olympic Winter Games were held in Utah from February 8 to March 16, 2002. Following the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, and the anthrax release in October 2001, the need for bioterrorism surveillance during the Games was paramount. A team of informaticists and public health specialists from Utah and Pittsburgh implemented the Real-time Outbreak and Disease Surveillance (RODS) system in Utah for the Games in just seven weeks. The strategies and challenges of implementing such a system in such a short time are discussed. The motivation and cooperation inspired by the 2002 Olympic Winter Games were a powerful driver in overcoming the organizational issues. Over 114,000 acute care encounters were monitored between February 8 and March 31, 2002. No outbreaks of public health significance were detected. The system was implemented successfully and operational for the 2002 Olympic Winter Games and remains operational today.
Gesteland
Per H
PH
University of Utah, Salt Lake City, USA.
Gardner
Reed M
RM
Tsui
Fu-Chiang
FC
Espino
Jeremy U
JU
Rolfs
Robert T
RT
James
Brent C
BC
Chapman
Wendy W
WW
Moore
Andrew W
AW
Wagner
Michael M
MM
D000465:Algorithms; D023482:Bioterrorism; D003219:Confidentiality; D004196:Disease Outbreaks / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006801:Humans; D008491:Medical Informatics Applications; D011159:Population Surveillance / Q000379:methods*; D011634:Public Health / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D013177:Sports; D014589:Utah