Integrated disease surveillance and response in the African region

Abstract

"The second edition of the Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response (IDSR) Technical Guidelines was prepared by the Disease Prevention and Control Cluster with active participation and involvement of programmes dealing with disease surveillance at the WHO Regional Office for Africa (AFRO), Brazzaville, Congo as well as Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Atlanta, USA. The purpose of the revision was to update existing information, include other priority diseases, conditions and public health events and incorporate aspects of the International Health Regulations (IHR) that deal with disease surveillance. In planning to update these guidelines, suggestions and advice for improving the recommendations were sought and gratefully received from the IDSR development teams who prepared the 1st edition. This revision builds on the technical expertise from more than 100 surveillance and disease experts at WHO, CDC and Ministries of Health in African countries who conceived and produced the 1st edition. The revision process involved internal WHO consultation followed by a wider consultation that involved a series of meetings with various partners and Member States. In addition, an ad hoc IDSR task force was constituted to help with the revision process. The final draft was peer reviewed by the ad hoc task force as well as during a final partner consultative meeting held in August 2010." - t.p. verso"More than ten years ago, the World Health Organization Regional Office for Africa (AFRO) and its Member States, along with their technical partners, adopted a strategy for developing and implementing comprehensive public health surveillance and response systems in African countries. The strategy was called Integrated Disease Surveillance (IDS). To highlight the essential link between surveillance and response, subsequent documents referred to Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response (or IDSR). The first edition of the IDSR Technical Guidelines (2002) was widely adopted and adapted throughout the African region. Progress towards coordinated, integrated surveillance systems has been mixed, but almost every country in the region and their partners has invested human and material resources in strengthening capacities for public health systems in order to detect, confirm and respond to public health threats in time to prevent unnecessary illness, death, and disability. As a result, the second edition of the IDSR Technical Guidelines was developed in response to several factors relevant to the last decade. During the last ten years, many changes have occurred in Africa's health, social, economic, environmental and technical environment. Between 2000 and 2010, the emergence of new diseases, conditions and events resulted in the need to review the recommendations for evolving public health priorities for surveillance and response. For example, while the initial goal of IDSR was to address communicable diseases, many countries have begun to include non-communicable diseases in their IDSR program. Also, the emergence of pandemic influenza (avian and H1N1) emphasized the importance of community surveillance for linking detection to rapid confirmation and response. Disease- specific programs have refocused their objectives to address broader system strengthening objectives. As well, countries continue to work towards achievement of the Millennium Development Goals." - p. 1Introduction -- Section 1. Identify cases of priority diseases, conditions and events -- Section 2. Report priority diseases, conditions and events -- Section 3. Analyze data -- Section 4. Investigate suspected outbreaks and other public health events -- Section 5. Prepare to respond to outbreaks and other public health events -- Section 6. Respond to outbreaks and other public health events -- Section 7. Communicate information -- Section 8. Monitor, evaluate, and improve surveillance and response -- Section 9. Summary guidelines for specific priority diseases and conditions"October 2010."Compiled and edited by: Francis Kasolo, Jean Baptist Roungou, Helen Perry.Available via the World Wide Web as an Acrobat .pdf file (3.13 MB, 416 p.)