Advancing digital methods in the fight against communicable diseases.
Important advances are being made in the fight against communicable diseases by using new digital tools. While they can be a challenge to deploy at-scale, GPS-enabled smartphones, electronic dashboards and computer models have multiple benefits. They can facilitate program operations, lead to new insights about the disease transmission and support strategic planning. Today, tools such as these are used to vaccinate more children against polio in Nigeria, reduce the malaria burden in Zambia and help predict the spread of the Ebola epidemic in West Africa.
Institute for Disease Modeling, Intellectual Ventures, Bellevue, 98005, USA gcouture@intven.com.
Guillaume
G
Chabot-Couture
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Seattle, 98109, USA.
Vincent Y
VY
Seaman
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Seattle, 98109, USA.
Jay
J
Wenger
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Seattle, 98109, USA.
Bruno
B
Moonen
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Seattle, 98109, USA.
Alan
A
Magill
D000354:Africa, Western / Q000453:epidemiology; D003140:Communicable Disease Control / Q000379:methods*; D003141:Communicable Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology; D003198:Computer Simulation; D003201:Computers; D058872:Epidemics; D040362:Geographic Information Systems; D019142:Hemorrhagic Fever, Ebola / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006801:Humans; D008288:Malaria / Q000517:prevention & control*; D008954:Models, Biological; D009549:Nigeria; D011051:Poliomyelitis / Q000517:prevention & control*; D015024:Zambia
Ebola; Epidemiology; GIS; GPS; Malaria; Polio