Mobile-based and open-source infectious disease surveillance and outbreak management in Tanzania

Abstract

Abstract Introduction The PANDORA-ID-NET consortium aims to build capacity for effective outbreak response in sub-Saharan Africa. Part of this mission is to develop a real-time data sharing platform for disease outbreaks that leverages centralised data management and uses mobile technologies for data gathering and feedback. We have committed to using open-source technologies, so that the platform can be deployed on regional IT infrastructure and further developed by local staff, and collected data can be stored and processed in the region of origin. This abstract aims to describe how we identified a state of the art open-source system that fulfils these criteria, and the process of how we are extending it to function within the current infectious disease control framework in Tanzania, under our partnership with the Ifakara Health Institute (IHI). Methods To find state of the art open-source systems matching our criteria, we performed a rapid review of the literature. We screened 1022 articles and found 15 candidate systems, out of which only SORMAS satisfied the criteria. SORMAS was developed jointly by the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) and the Nigeria CDC, and was modeled on Nigeria's successful response to the Ebola outbreak. The system can be used for case management, contact tracing, surveillance, and laboratory sample management. Data is collected and synchronised using Android mobile devices (both online and offline) and data aggregation and analysis are performed in real-time via a web application Results Having chosen SORMAS, we established a collaboration between the SORMAS developer team and the PANDORA team. IHI are guiding ongoing work on adapting SORMAS to the Tanzanian health facility geography and the country's case definition guidelines for notifiable diseases. Conclusions Once adapted for Tanzania, SORMAS will fill an unoccupied niche in infectious disease control, improving the quality of collected case data and enabling better outbreak response Key messages A state of the art, mobile-based, open-source outbreak management and infectious disease surveillance system (SORMAS) is being deployed in Tanzania. We outline our experience with piloting SORMAS in Tanzania, building on the experience of our Nigerian and German partners, who rolled out this system nationally in Nigeria and other African countries.