title: Automated syndromic surveillance for the 2002 Winter Olympics.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: University of Utah, Salt Lake City, USA.
authors.forename: Per H
authors.initials: PH
authors.lastname: Gesteland
authors.forename: Reed M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Gardner
authors.forename: Fu-Chiang
authors.initials: FC
authors.lastname: Tsui
authors.forename: Jeremy U
authors.initials: JU
authors.lastname: Espino
authors.forename: Robert T
authors.initials: RT
authors.lastname: Rolfs
authors.forename: Brent C
authors.initials: BC
authors.lastname: James
authors.forename: Wendy W
authors.initials: WW
authors.lastname: Chapman
authors.forename: Andrew W
authors.initials: AW
authors.lastname: Moore
authors.forename: Michael M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Wagner
mesh_terms: 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