SAGES: A Suite of Freely-Available Software Tools for Electronic Disease Surveillance in Resource-Limited Settings

Public health surveillance is undergoing a revolution driven by advances in the field of information technology. Many countries have experienced vast improvements in the collection, ingestion, analysis, visualization, and dissemination of public health data. Resource-limited countries have lagged behind due to challenges in information technology infrastructure, public health resources, and the costs of proprietary software. The Suite for Automated Global Electronic bioSurveillance (SAGES) is a collection of modular, flexible, freely-available software tools for electronic disease surveillance in resource-limited settings. One or more SAGES tools may be used in concert with existing surveillance applications or the SAGES tools may be used en masse for an end-to-end biosurveillance capability. This flexibility allows for the development of an inexpensive, customized, and sustainable disease surveillance system. The ability to rapidly assess anomalous disease activity may lead to more efficient use of limited resources and better compliance with World Health Organization International Health Regulations

Cancer of the pancreas and drinking water: A population-based case-control study in Washington county, Maryland

A case-control study was done to assess a potential association between drinking water and pancreatic cancer in Washington County, Maryland. Cases of pancreatic cancer occurring from 1975 through 1989 were identified from the cancer registry. Controls were selected from the private 1975 census of Washington County. There were 101 cases and 206 controls. Chlorinated municipal water was used as a source of drinking water by 79% of cases and 63% of controls, yielding a significant odds ratio of 2.2. Adjustment for age and smoking had almost no effect on the risk, although both age and smoking were independently associated with an increased risk of pancreatic cancer. Although these findings must be interpreted with caution because of limitations in exposure assessment, these results have implications for the prevention of pancreatic cancer because chlorination of water is so widely practiced. © 1992 by The Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health

Times Series Display.

<p>Through <i>ESSENCE Desktop Edition (EDE)</i>, users have the ability to see time series views of their data labeled with early event detections. Detections are generated using one of the default algorithms supplied with EDE; however, users can add additional algorithms of their choosing.</p

Role-based Information Sharing.

<p>InfoShare allows each user to determine role-based access to public health information. The data are collected and stored only by the user, and remain under the sole control of the user at all times.</p

SAGES Suite of Tools.

<p>The <i>Suite for Automated Global Electronic bioSurveillance</i> (SAGES) is a collection of modular, flexible, freely-available software tools for electronic disease surveillance in resource-limited settings. One or more SAGES tools may be used in concert with existing surveillance applications or the SAGES tools may be used <i>en masse</i> for an end–to-end biosurveillance capability.</p

Mapping Utilities.

<p><i>OpenESSENCE</i> and EDE users can map spatial data, cases, and alert levels in geographic areas defined in the data. OpenESSENCE embeds maps in the application using a GeoServer interface. EDE embeds maps through a uDig interface or optionally launches CDC's EpiMap application with Environmental Systems Research Institute shape files.</p