Australian National Enterovirus Reference Laboratory annual report, 2020

Australia monitors its polio-free status by conducting surveillance for cases of acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) in children less than 15 years of age, as recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO). Cases of AFP in children are notified to the Australian Paediatric Surveillance Unit or the Paediatric Active Enhanced Disease Surveillance System and faecal specimens are referred for virological investigation to the National Enterovirus Reference Laboratory. In 2017, no cases of poliomyelitis were reported from clinical surveillance and Australia reported 1.33 non-polio AFP cases per 100,000 children, meeting the WHO performance criterion for a sensitive surveillance system. Three non-polio enteroviruses, coxsackievirus B1, echovirus 11 and enterovirus A71, were identified from clinical specimens collected from AFP cases. Australia established enterovirus and environmental surveillance systems to complement the clinical system focussed on children and an ambiguous vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 was isolated from sewage in Melbourne. In 2017, 22 cases of wild polio were reported with three countries remaining endemic: Afghanistan, Nigeria and Pakistan.

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Australian National Enterovirus Reference Laboratory annual report, 2019

Communicable Diseases Intelligence ◽

10.33321/cdi.2020.44.94 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 44 ◽

Author(s):

Linda K Hobday ◽

Aishah Ibrahim ◽

Matthew E Kaye ◽

Leesa Bruggink ◽

Presa Chanthalavanh ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Surveillance System ◽

Disease Surveillance ◽

Performance Criterion ◽

World Health ◽

Reference Laboratory ◽

Disease Surveillance System ◽

Enterovirus A71 ◽

The World ◽

Clinical Surveillance ◽

Health Organization

Australia monitors its polio-free status by conducting surveillance for cases of acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) in children less than 15 years of age, as recommended by the World Health Organization. Cases of AFP in children are notified to the Australian Paediatric Surveillance Unit or the Paediatric Active Enhanced Disease Surveillance System and faecal specimens are referred for virological investigation to the National Enterovirus Reference Laboratory. In 2019, no cases of poliomyelitis were reported from clinical surveillance and Australia reported 1.34 non-polio AFP cases per 100,000 children, meeting the World Health Organization’s performance criterion for a sensitive surveillance system. The non-polio enteroviruses coxsackievirus A2, coxsackievirus A16, echovirus 9, and enterovirus A71 were identified from clinical specimens collected from AFP cases. Australia also performs enterovirus and environmental surveillance to complement the clinical system focussed on children. In 2019, 175 cases of wild polio were reported, with three countries remaining endemic: Afghanistan, Nigeria and Pakistan.

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Australian National Enterovirus Reference Laboratory annual report, 2018

Communicable Diseases Intelligence ◽

10.33321/cdi.2020.44.26 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 44 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Jason A Roberts ◽

Linda K Hobday ◽

Aishah Ibrahim ◽

Bruce R Thorley

Keyword(s):

Surveillance System ◽

Disease Surveillance ◽

Performance Criterion ◽

Reference Laboratory ◽

Echovirus 30 ◽

Disease Surveillance System ◽

Enterovirus A71 ◽

Clinical Surveillance ◽

Enterovirus D68 ◽

Free Status

Australia monitors its polio-free status by conducting surveillance for cases of AFP in children less than 15 years of age, as recommended by the WHO. Cases of AFP in children are notified to the Australian Paediatric Surveillance Unit or the Paediatric Active Enhanced Disease Surveillance System and faecal specimens are referred for virological investigation to the National Enterovirus Reference Laboratory. In 2018, no cases of poliomyelitis were reported from clinical surveillance and Australia reported 1.24 non-polio AFP cases per 100,000 children, meeting the WHO performance criterion for a sensitive surveillance system. Several non-polio enteroviruses, coxsackievirus A4, coxsackievirus B1, echovirus 9, echovirus 30, enterovirus D68 and enterovirus A71, were identified from clinical specimens collected from AFP cases. Australia also performs enterovirus and environmental surveillance to complement the clinical system focussed on children. In 2018, 33 cases of wild polio were reported with three countries remaining endemic: Afghanistan, Nigeria and Pakistan.

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Australian National Enterovirus Reference Laboratory annual report, 2016

Communicable Diseases Intelligence ◽

10.33321/cdi.2020.44.25 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 44 ◽

Author(s):

Jason A Roberts ◽

Linda K Hobday ◽

Aishah Ibrahim ◽

Bruce R Thorley

Keyword(s):

Surveillance System ◽

Disease Surveillance ◽

Oral Polio Vaccine ◽

Performance Criterion ◽

World Health ◽

Reference Laboratory ◽

Poliovirus Type ◽

Wild Poliovirus ◽

Coxsackievirus A6

Australia monitors its polio-free status by conducting surveillance for cases of acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) in children less than 15 years of age, as recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO). Cases of AFP in children are notified to the Australian Paediatric Surveillance Unit or the Paediatric Active Enhanced Disease Surveillance System and faecal specimens are referred for virological investigation to the National Enterovirus Reference Laboratory. In 2016, no cases of poliomyelitis were reported from clinical surveillance and Australia reported 1.38 non-polio AFP cases per 100,000 children, meeting the WHO performance criterion for a sensitive surveillance system. Several non-polio enteroviruses, coxsackievirus A6, enterovirus A71, enterovirus A74 and enterovirus D68, were identified from clinical specimens collected from AFP cases. The global withdrawal of Sabin poliovirus type 2 from oral polio vaccine occurred in April 2016. This event represents the start of the polio endgame with an increased focus on the laboratory containment of all remaining wild and vaccine strains of poliovirus type 2. The National Enterovirus Reference Laboratory was designated as a polio essential facility as part of this process. In 2016, 37 cases of wild polio were reported with three countries remaining endemic: Afghanistan, Nigeria and Pakistan. Nigeria was declared polio-free in 2015, after 12 months without detection of wild poliovirus, but was reinstated as an endemic country after the reporting of four cases in August 2016. This is a salient reminder of the need to maintain sensitive surveillance for poliovirus until global eradication is certified.

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Australian National Enterovirus Reference Laboratory annual report, 2015

Communicable Diseases Intelligence ◽

10.33321/cdi.2020.44.24 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 44 ◽

Author(s):

Jason A Roberts ◽

Linda K Hobday ◽

Aishah Ibrahim ◽

Thomas Aitken ◽

Bruce R Thorley

Keyword(s):

Surveillance System ◽

Oral Polio Vaccine ◽

World Health ◽

Surveillance Program ◽

Reference Laboratory ◽

Poliovirus Type ◽

Wild Poliovirus ◽

Polio Vaccine ◽

Clinical Surveillance

Australia conducts surveillance for cases of acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) in children less than 15 years as recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) as the main method to monitor its polio-free status. Cases of AFP in children are notified to the Australian Paediatric Surveillance Unit or the Paediatric Active Enhanced Disease Surveillance System and faecal specimens are referred for virological investigation to the National Enterovirus Reference Laboratory. In 2015, no cases of poliomyelitis were reported from clinical surveillance and Australia reported 1.2 non-polio AFP cases per 100,000 children, meeting the WHO performance criterion for a sensitive surveillance system. Two non-polio enteroviruses, enterovirus A71 and coxsackievirus B3, were identified from clinical specimens collected from AFP cases. Australia complements the clinical surveillance program with enterovirus and environmental surveillance for poliovirus. Two Sabin-like polioviruses were isolated from sewage collected in Melbourne in 2015, which would have been imported from a country that uses the oral polio vaccine. The global eradication of wild poliovirus type 2 was certified in 2015 and Sabin poliovirus type 2 will be withdrawn from oral polio vaccine in April 2016. Laboratory containment of all remaining wild and vaccine strains of poliovirus type 2 will occur in 2016 and the National Enterovirus Reference Laboratory was designated as a polio essential facility. Globally, in 2015, 74 cases of polio were reported, only in the two remaining countries endemic for wild poliovirus: Afghanistan and Pakistan. This is the lowest number reported since the global polio eradication program was initiated.

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An Assessment of Timeliness and Quality of Communicable Disease Surveillance System in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq

INQUIRY The Journal of Health Care Organization Provision and Financing ◽

10.1177/00469580211056045 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 58 ◽

pp. 004695802110560

Author(s):

Soran Amin Hamalaw ◽

Ali Hattem Bayati ◽

Muhammed Babakir-Mina

Keyword(s):

Surveillance System ◽

Disease Surveillance ◽

Communicable Disease ◽

World Health ◽

Kurdistan Region ◽

Outbreak Response ◽

Disease Surveillance System ◽

Health Organization ◽

Evaluation And Monitoring

Background The quality of the surveillance system can be defined by attributes such as completeness, timeliness, usefulness, simplicity, flexibility, acceptability, and reliability. This study aims to assess these quality features of the communicable disease surveillance system (CDSS) in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Methods This study was conducted using a retrospective review of records and documents, and the interviews with the surveillance staff (n = 82) of the Kurdistan governorates during 2018, 2019, and 2020. The World Health Organization (WHO) guideline 2006 indicators were used for evaluation and monitoring the quality of the communicable disease surveillance system. The data analyzed and showed as frequencies and percentages using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 26 software. Results The reporting timeliness declined from 98% in 2019 to 69% in 2020. At the same time, there was an improvement in completeness of reporting from 83% in 2018 to 99% in 2020. The total scores of other surveillance quality attributes, simplicity, usefulness, flexibility, acceptability, and reliability, were 75%, 72%, 67%, 72%, and 69%, respectively. Conclusion Current findings demonstrate that the CDSS is still facing significant challenges in timeliness simplicity, usefulness, flexibility, acceptability, and reliability. Further studies to assess the system’s quality, particularly the system’s timeliness of outbreak response, sensitivity, and specificity, are recommended.

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Assessment of the core functions of hepatitis B surveillance system in the southeastern Iran: a qualitative study

Iranian Journal Of Health Sciences ◽

10.18502/jhs.v7i3.1528 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Mozhgan Mahmoodi ◽

Abbas Yazdanpanah ◽

Abbas Ghavam ◽

Khodadad Sheikhzadeh

Keyword(s):

Hepatitis B ◽

World Health Organization ◽

Surveillance System ◽

Disease Surveillance ◽

High Efficiency ◽

World Health ◽

The Core ◽

Disease Surveillance System ◽

Content Analysis Method ◽

Health Organization

Introduction: Viral hepatitis has been declared as one of the major health problems by World Health Organization. Hepatitis B surveillance system is one of the most important tools for managing the disease and achieving the targets of disease elimination. Despite its high efficiency, hepatitis B surveillance system has always been faced with many challenges. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the core functions of the hepatitis B surveillance system in southeastern region of Iran. Method: Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with 14 hepatitis B surveillance experts in five counties of Sistan and Baluchestan Province, southeast Iran. The data were analyzed using content analysis method, based on the structure of the disease surveillance system. Purposeful sampling method was carried out and continued until saturation of the themes was achieved. Results: The main studied themes were case finding, case reporting, case registration, case confirmation, data analysis, sending feedback, and implementing interventions. The results of this study showed that all of the core functions of the hepatitis B surveillance system were running in the studied counties, although they did not meet the relevant standards in some cases. Conclusion: It seemed that, despite the numerous efforts and activities, it was still far from reaching the targets of the program. Considering the goal of World Health Organization to eliminate hepatitis B by 2030, it is essential to address these challenges and make attempt to overcome them.

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Challenges Facing the Chinese Health Care System

Asia Pacific Journal of Public Health ◽

10.1177/1010539520968464 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 101053952096846

Author(s):

Kaixuan Hu

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Health Care System ◽

Disease Surveillance ◽

World Health ◽

Outbreak Response ◽

The Past ◽

Disease Surveillance System ◽

Rural And Urban ◽

Health Organization ◽

Care System

The purposes of this article are to explore the challenges the Chinese health care system will be facing in the next decade. The recent outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) having infected more than 90 000 persons in China (Source: World Health Organization, WHO Coronavirus Disease Dashboard) again reveals the weaknesses of the fragmental health care system. Over the past 3 decades, increasing out-of-pocket spending on health care, increasing mortality rate of chronic disease, growing disparities between rural and urban populations, the defectiveness of disease surveillance system, and disease outbreak response system have been pressing Chinese authorities for action. As this country has experienced an unprecedented economic growth along with an unparalleled development of health care system in the past 3 decades, the challenges ahead are unavoidably numerous and complex.

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Nutritional Status of Children with Cerebral Palsy—Findings from Prospective Hospital-Based Surveillance in Vietnam Indicate a Need for Action

Nutrients ◽

10.3390/nu11092132 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 11 (9) ◽

pp. 2132 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Tasneem Karim ◽

Israt Jahan ◽

Rachael Dossetor ◽

Nguyen Thi Huong Giang ◽

Nguyen Thi Van Anh ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cerebral Palsy ◽

Nutritional Status ◽

Disease Surveillance ◽

Family Income ◽

Economic Status ◽

World Health ◽

Disease Surveillance System ◽

Children With Cerebral Palsy ◽

Health Organization ◽

Nutritional Status Of Children

Background: Lack of evidence on the burden and risk factors for malnutrition among children with cerebral palsy (CP) in Vietnam limits evidence-based interventions. We aimed to define the nutritional status of children with CP in Vietnam. Materials and Methods: The study utilized data from active prospective hospital-based surveillance modelled on the Pediatric Active Enhanced Disease Surveillance system. Children (0–18 years) with CP attending the National Children’s Hospital Hanoi, Vietnam between June–November 2017 were included. Data on demographic, clinical and rehabilitation status were collected following detailed neurodevelopmental assessment. Anthropometric measurements were taken. Nutritional status was determined using the World Health Organization guideline. Results: Of 765 children (the mean (SD) age was 2.6 (2.5) years; 35.8% were female), 28.9% (n = 213) were underweight and 29.0% (n = 214) stunted. The odds of underweight were significantly higher among children aged >5 years and/or having a monthly family income of <50 USD. Underweight and/or stunting was high among children with quadriplegia (81%, n = 60 and 84.5%, n = 87) and/or Gross Motor Functional Classification System (GMFCS) level IV–V (62.5%, n = 45 and 67.0%, n = 67). Nearly one-third of intellectually impaired and more than half of hearing-impaired children were underweight and/or stunted. Conclusions: Poor economic status and increased motor severity increased vulnerability to malnutrition. Our findings will inform nutritional rehabilitation programs among these vulnerable children.

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Electronic Integrated Disease Surveillance System and Pathogen Asset Control System

Onderstepoort Journal of Veterinary Research ◽

10.4102/ojvr.v79i2.455 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 79 (2) ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Tom G. Wahl ◽

Aleksey V. Burdakov ◽

Andrey O. Oukharov ◽

Azamat K. Zhilokov

Keyword(s):

Control System ◽

Real Time ◽

Surveillance System ◽

Disease Surveillance ◽

Data Exchange ◽

Laboratory Data ◽

World Health ◽

Open Architecture ◽

Case Definitions ◽

Disease Surveillance System

Electronic Integrated Disease Surveillance System (EIDSS) has been used to strengthen and support monitoring and prevention of dangerous diseases within One Health concept by integrating veterinary and human surveillance, passive and active approaches, case-based records including disease-specific clinical data based on standardised case definitions and aggregated data, laboratory data including sample tracking linked to each case and event with test results and epidemiological investigations. Information was collected and shared in secure way by different means: through the distributed nodes which are continuously synchronised amongst each other, through the web service, through the handheld devices. Electronic Integrated Disease Surveillance System provided near real time information flow that has been then disseminated to the appropriate organisations in a timely manner. It has been used for comprehensive analysis and visualisation capabilities including real time mapping of case events as these unfold enhancing decision making. Electronic Integrated Disease Surveillance System facilitated countries to comply with the IHR 2005 requirements through a data transfer module reporting diseases electronically to the World Health Organisation (WHO) data center as well as establish authorised data exchange with other electronic system using Open Architecture approach. Pathogen Asset Control System (PACS) has been used for accounting, management and control of biological agent stocks. Information on samples and strains of any kind throughout their entire lifecycle has been tracked in a comprehensive and flexible solution PACS.Both systems have been used in a combination and individually. Electronic Integrated Disease Surveillance System and PACS are currently deployed in the Republics of Kazakhstan, Georgia and Azerbaijan as a part of the Cooperative Biological Engagement Program (CBEP) sponsored by the US Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA).

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