Construction of syndromic surveillance using a web-based daily questionnaire for health and its application at the G8 Hokkaido Toyako Summit meeting.
We constructed a syndromic surveillance system to collect directly information on daily health conditions directly from local residents via the internet [web-based daily questionnaire for health surveillance system (WDQH SS)]. This paper considers the feasibility of the WDQH SS and its ability to detect epidemics. A verification study revealed that our system was an effective surveillance system. We then applied an improved WDQH SS as a measure against public health concerns at the G8 Hokkaido Toyako Summit meeting in 2008. While in operation at the Summit, our system reported a fever alert that was consistent with a herpangina epidemic. The highly mobile WDQH SS described in this study has three main advantages: the earlier detection of epidemics, compared to other surveillance systems; the ability to collect data even on weekends and holidays; and a rapid system set-up that can be completed within 3 days.
Sugiura
H
H
Department of Public Health, Health Management and Policy, Nara Medical University School of Medicine, Kashihara, Nara, Japan. tomomarie@smn.enjoy.ne.jp
Ohkusa
Y
Y
Akahane
M
M
Sugahara
T
T
Okabe
N
N
Imamura
T
T
D000328:Adult; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet; D008297:Male; D018571:Sentinel Surveillance; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires