Abstract
A cornerstone of effective global health surveillance programs is the ability to build systems that identify, track and respond to public health threats in a timely manner. These functions are often difficult and require international cooperation given the rapidity with which diseases cross national borders and spread throughout the global community as a result of travel and migration by both humans and animals. As part of the U.S. Armed Forces Health Surveillance Center (AFHSC), the Department of Defense’s (DoD) Globa Emerging Infections Surveillance and Response System (AFHSC-GEIS) has developed a global network of surveillance sites over the past decade that engages in a wide spectrum of support activities in collaboration with host country partners. Many of these activities are in direct support of International Health Regulations (IHR[2005]). The network also supports host country military forces around the world, which are equally affected by these threats and are often in a unique position to respond in areas of conflict or during complex emergencies. With IHR(2005) as the guiding framework for action, the AFHSC-GEIS network of international partners and overseas research laboratories continues to develop into a far-reaching system for identifying, analyzing and responding to emerging disease threats.
Highlights
Introduction and backgroundThe central focus of disease surveillance systems is the early identification of infectious disease outbreaks in order to rapidly implement effective control measures for minimizing disease transmission and morbidity
In 1997, the U.S Department of Defense (DoD) established the Global Emerging Infections Surveillance and Response System (GEIS) in response to the U.S Presidential Decision Directive NSTC-7, which detailed the need for more robust global disease surveillance [2]
The goals of these expansion efforts include broadening the network to monitor and detect increasing numbers of avian (H5N1) influenza outbreaks around the world and identifying new infectious disease threats [6]. This expansion of capacity and function was both appropriate and fortuitous as Armed Forces Health Surveillance Center (AFHSC)-GEIS network partners at Naval Health Research Center (NHRC) and U.S Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine (USAFSAM) were the first in the world to identify the novel influenza A/H1N1 strain in April 2009 in California and Texas [7,8]
Summary
Surveillance Laboratory-based surveillance Beginning in 2006, the DoD’s global disease surveillance network has worked to enhance the existing surveillance infrastructure to prepare for a potential influenza pandemic The goals of these expansion efforts include broadening the network to monitor and detect increasing numbers of avian (H5N1) influenza outbreaks around the world and identifying new infectious disease threats [6]. This expansion of capacity and function was both appropriate and fortuitous as AFHSC-GEIS network partners at NHRC and USAFSAM were the first in the world to identify the novel influenza A/H1N1 strain in April 2009 in California and Texas [7,8]. No major outbreaks of disease were detected by this system in 2009, it continued to provide situational awareness for the RTA and Thai Ministry of Health [9]
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