Article,
Construction of syndromic surveillance using a web-based daily questionnaire for health and its application at the G8 Hokkaido Toyako Summit meeting
Epidemiology & Infection, (October 2010)
DOI: 10.1017/s095026880999149x
Abstract
We constructed a syndromic surveillance system to collect directly information on daily health conditions directly from local residents via the internet web-based daily questionnaire for health surveillance system (WDQH SS). This paper considers the feasibility of the WDQH SS and its ability to detect epidemics. A verification study revealed that our system was an effective surveillance system. We then applied an improved WDQH SS as a measure against public health concerns at the G8 Hokkaido Toyako Summit meeting in 2008. While in operation at the Summit, our system reported a fever alert that was consistent with a herpangina epidemic. The highly mobile WDQH SS described in this study has three main advantages: the earlier detection of epidemics, compared to other surveillance systems; the ability to collect data even on weekends and holidays; and a rapid system set-up that can be completed within 3 days.
