Implementation of Event Based Surveillance in Jordan
Jordan is conducting a training workshop for the launch of event based surveillance (EBS) for acute respiratory infections. The workshop to be conducted in Amman, Jordan, from 24 to 27 July 2017 will target public health officers responsible for surveillance and response at governorate level and health professionals from all secondary and tertiary level hospitals in the country.
Editorial note
EBS is defined as the organized collection, monitoring, assessment and interpretation of mainly unstructured ad hoc information regarding health events or risks, which may represent an acute risk to human health. It is a component of a comprehensive early warning surveillance system.
The establishment of EBS for acute respiratory infections in Jordan was based on recognition of the need to complement and enhance capacity for early warning of its surveillance system for severe acute respiratory infections (SARI) that Jordan has implemented for many years. Jordan has been reporting Influenza data to FluNet and EMFLU in a sustainable way during the past few years (Please see the table).
Massive urbanization, increased population movements, increased international travel and trade has created conditions for rapid spread of emerging and reemerging infectious hazards such as MERS and influenza. Recent examples in Jordan include the MERS-CoV outbreak in 2015 which had an imported index case.To respond to these new challenges and public health threats, the International Health Regulations (IHR) of 2005 have underscored the need for countries to strengthen early warning surveillance systems through implementation on event based surveillance (EBS) systems to ensure early detection and timely response to health events.
Through a collaborative effort between the Ministry of Health, CDC and WHO, Jordan will go a long way towards ensuring timely detection of emerging and dangerous respiratory infections such as MERS and Influenza.
Through lectures, case studies, practical exercises and discussions, the training workshop will introduce participants to the new national EBS guidelines for acute respiratory events, priority acute respiratory events for reporting, EBS procedures and information flow at all levels, available tools for EBS activities at all levels including electronic tools for reporting sites, from the detection and reporting level in private and public hospitals to central coordination level.
By enhancing the capacity for early warning of the national surveillance system of Jordan, the country is expected to detect early signals of any epidemic-prone acute respiratory infections in humans that is associated with illness in animals, unexplained SARI that occurs in a healthcare worker who takes care of patients with respiratory illness, increased ICU admissions for respiratory illness, or increase in apparent mortality or unexplained deaths. It is expected that the EBS will increase the sensitivity of the surveillance system in the country to provide early warning and consequently rapid response to any acute respiratory infections that are potentially a threat to the population.