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InSTEDD's Global Early Warning and Response System
Presenter: Dr. Taha Kass-Hout, Director, InSTEDD

Most current disease warning and response systems have been geared simply towards automation by monitoring clinical systems and other sources; much less effort has been focused on how these systems will "interact" with humans. Furthermore, the bulk of these systems have been regionally deployed, limited to areas where clinical data is readily available, and internet connectivity and high bandwidth are widespread. Unfortunately, these systems do not support regions of low bandwidth, limited connectivity, and sparse use of clinical information systems-the regions where globe-threatening outbreaks typically originate and where timely interventions are most needed. We describe an Open Source collaboration platform for global early warning and response to health events such as a disease outbreak or a pandemic. The platform allows domain experts to collaborate around diverse streams of information, providing them with methods and tools that facilitate investigation, validation, and more complex analysis and deeper insight. Health indicators are drawn from a wide variety of information sources (structured and unstructured) and arranged in a consolidated view for analysis, maintenance of "community-wide coherence," and improved collaboration. Current classifiers within the system recognize seven syndromes, ten transmission modes, more than 100 infectious diseases, 180 microorganisms, 140 symptoms, and more than 50 chemicals. The platform and associated modules are being piloted in the Mekong Basin region of Southeast Asia, in Africa, and within major metropolitan areas in the US. We believe that such a platform represents the next generation of early warning and response systems.

Web Site: taha.instedd.org
Contact: kasshout@instedd.org

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