Disease surveillance - an evolving system

Authors: Anonymous
Publication: New Zealand Veterinary Journal, Volume 25, Issue 8, pp 199, Aug 1977
Publisher: Taylor and Francis

Animal type: Livestock
Subject Terms: Biosecurity, Disease surveillance, Epidemiology
Article class: General Article

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Abstract: Disease Surveillance has been described as “the collection and use of any information necessary for the control of disease”. In a stricter sense it implies “the collation and interpretation of data with a view to the detection of changes in the health status of a population”. Surveillance is derived from the French words sur and veiller, meaning to watch over and it is easy to see how, in epidemiological use, its meaning has been extended to include the tools used to watch over or monitor the health status of a population. To monitor in its modern sense also means to watch, to oversee, or to keep track of; the World Health Organisation describes monitoring as the process of gathering data, whereas surveillance to them implies the collation and interpretation of data, transforming data into information…

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