A seroprevalence survey carried out in four counties in the Tampa Bay area of Florida (Hillsborough, Pinellas, Manatee and Pasco) provided an estimate of cumulative incidence of infection due to the 2009 influenza A (H1N1) as of the end of that year’s pandemic. During the pandemic, high-level decison-makers wanted timely, credible forecasts as to the likely near-term course of the pandemic.

Dengue is endemic in Singapore, with epidemics of increasing magnitude occurring on a six-year cycle in 1986/7, 1992, 1998, 2004/5, 2007 and 2013. The incidence per 100,000 population ranged from 87.2 to 105.6 in 2009-20121 , and surged to 410.6 in 2013. The mean weekly number of dengue cases over a five-year period provides an indication of the baseline level. We illustrate an adjustment that has been made to the computation of the baseline level due to increased testing for dengue in 2013.

Objective

NPDS is a near real-time surveillance system and national database operated by the American Association of Poison Control Centers. NPDS receives records of all calls made to the 55 regional US poison centers (PCs). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) use NPDS to 1) provide public health surveillance for chemical, radiological and biological exposures and illnesses, 2) identify early markers of chemical, radiological, and biological incidents, and 3) find potential cases and enhance situational awareness during a known incident.

Standardized electronic pre-diagnostic information is routinely collected in Alberta, Canada. ARTSSN is an automated real-time surveillance data repository able to rapidly refresh data that include school absenteeism information, calls about health concerns from Health Link Alberta; a provincial telephone service for health advice and information, and emergency department visits categorized by standardized chief complaint. Until recently, real-time ARTSSN data for public health surveillance and decision making has been underutilized.

Objective