APPLICATION OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IN DISEASE MONITORING & SURVEILLANCE

Pradeep Swamy and Sandeep Halmandge

Animal disease monitoring describes the ongoing efforts directed at assessing the health and disease status of a given population. The disease can be a specific infectious disease/diseases or health in general, whereas the monitoring activities are the routine recording, analyses and distribution of information related to the disease (or health). The term disease surveillance is used to describe a more active system and implies that some form of directed action will be taken if the data indicates a disease level above a certain threshold.

In today’s click-and-access kind of world, Information Technology is finding applications in every field and animal disease monitoring & surveillance is no exception. The various technologies which are applied are Geographic Information Systems, Global Positioning System, database management, computer aided design (CAD), computer network technologies, artificial intelligence (AI), expert systems etc.

Geographic Information Systems and its Role

As technology advances, so do our capabilities of disease diagnosis and tracking. Geographic Information System (GIS) with the help of Global Positioning System (GPS), remote

sensing and satellite imagery, is an exciting technology which is becoming a more common part of everyday life. GIS is a computer system for capturing, storing, checking, integrating, manipulating, analyzing and displaying data related to location.

The use of GIS in veterinary medicine and epidemiology dates back to the late 1970s. Canadian Scientist, Dr. Rowland R Tinline, applied GIS retrospectively to the pattern of spread of the Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) epizootic of 1967-1968 in England. The goal was to better understand the diseases’ incubation period and how it spread from herd to herd. By using GIS, much was learned about FMD that could be applied in the control of future outbreaks worldwide.

GIS is being utilized for disease monitoring. It can be utilized for comprehensive and integrated monitoring and surveillance to demonstrate where a particular disease does or does not occur. One possibility for GIS use would be to use geographic visualization for possible biological risk management. Geographic visualization is an offshoot of scientific visualization. Scientific visualization is a method that incorporates the graphic capabilities of today’s computers to transform data into visual models that can make visible things that ordinarily could not have been seen. The advantage of this is that the general public and almost all professionals use visual approaches to communicate and exchange ideas. Another possibility related to this same computerized simulation concept would be to use GIS for scenario playing. Special software like “Community Viz” can be utilized for setting up a possible scenario involving the accidental release of a biological agent on a farm. The GIS software can be programmed to multi-task in the risk assessment of a farm and take into account the type of agent used, the route of transmission, and the estimated susceptibility of animals to calculate the risk impact at stake.

Data collection is the core of GIS and disease monitoring and surveillance systems (Mo&SS) and whenever data are used the data quality is of great concern Both prospective and retrospective data are required for meaningful interpretation of the data. However, most of the data analyzed are of retrospective type. Such data can be collected from Surveillance Units, slaughter houses, livestock and poultry farms, veterinary hospitals, kennel clubs etc. However, a good amount of data is available with the Project Directorate, Animal Disease Monitoring and Surveillance (PD-ADMAS).

In addition, updating of the database is very essential as the pattern of diseases varies from time to time. Analysis of data will not only help in knowing the various diseases occurring in a particular state but also will help in knowing the prevalence, incidence, morbidity, mortality, case fatality rate and proportional occurrences of these diseases as they vary from region to region and from time to time. Once the types of diseases prevailing in a region and its pattern is known then it will be very useful for the administrators and the field veterinarians for formulating effective preventive and control measures. Once these measures are implemented, it will benefit the livestock economy as well as the country.

International Agencies involved in Disease Monitoring and Surveillance

WHO Statistical Information System (WHOSIS): This is an interactive database bringing together core health statistics for the 193 WHO Member States. It comprises more than 70 indicators, which can be accessed by way of a quick search, by major categories, or through user-defined tables. The data can be further filtered, tabulated, charted and downloaded. The data are also published annually in the World Health Statistics Report released in May.

World Organization for Animal Health (OIE): This presents a synthesis of animal health information from OIE Member Countries and Territories as well as from non OIE Members and provides a unique tool for all those involved in the development of animal production, international trade in animals and animal products and the epidemiology and control of animal diseases, including zoonoses. It is composed of tables of data on the occurrence of OIE-listed diseases and their impact in each country/territory. The tables include the number of outbreaks reported for each disease, with the number of susceptible animals, cases, or dead animals. The OIE website displays the following information on its site:

· Latest news and updates on animal diseases

· World Animal Health Information Database (WAHID): The WAHID Interface provides access to all data held within OIE's new World Animal Health Information System (WAHIS). It replaces and significantly extends the former web interface named Handistatus II System. It provides information about a particular disease, including global disease distribution maps, outbreaks maps, lists and maps of prophylactic and control measures used by countries and by disease, etc.

Program for Monitoring Emerging Diseases (ProMED): This is a program of the International Society for Infectious Diseases. The global electronic reporting system for outbreaks of emerging infectious diseases & toxins, open to all sources.

Websites providing information on the status of diseases:

http://www.who.int

http://www.oie.int

http://www.fao.org

http://www.cdc.gov

http://www.veterinary-public-health.de

Information Technology is finding its application in all sciences. Though the application of IT in animal husbandry in India is in its infancy, there is huge potential for improvement in this field. The main reasons for the poor implementation of IT in the animal husbandry sector are - role of government is not fully realized, difficulties in collection of accurate information and the imperfect network system. The need of the hour is to overcome hurdles in its implementation and devise efficient animal disease monitoring and surveillance techniques.

Excerpt from 'Information Technology in Veterinary Science' (2009), New India Publishing Agency, New Delhi. ISBN 978-81-908512-4-4. More details here.