Analysis on performance of communicable disease automatic early warning information system in Gongshu District of Hangzhou City, 2008-2013

Abstract

Objective To evaluate the performance of communicable disease automatic early warning information system during 2008 to 2013, and provide scientific evidence for the improvement of the system. Methods Descriptive epidemiological analysis was conducted on the information obtained from the automatic early warning system from 2008 to 2013 in Gongshu district of Hangzhou City. Results Totally 1 626 warning signals involving 20 kinds of communicable diseases were released by the automatic early warning system from 21 April 2008 to 31 December 2013. The five major diseases were other infectious diarrhea, mumps, measles, bacillary and dysentery, hand foot and mouth disease, accouning for 87.27% of the total number of early warning signals; and 13 of them were verified by field investigation (6 cases of cholera, 3 cases of influenza) . The predictive value positive (PVP) of early warning was 0.80% and the sensitivity was 85.71%.From warning signal releasing to reporting, the median of the response interval was 0.42 hour. Conclusions The automatic early warning system was stable and effective for the early detection of priority disease as cholera in Gongshu district. Key words: Communicable diseases; Automatic warning information system; Evaluation