Abstract
In the context of controlling the current outbreak of Ebola virus disease (EVD), the World Health Organization claimed that 'critical determinant of epidemic size appears to be the speed of implementation of rigorous control measures', i.e. immediate follow-up of contact persons during 21 days after exposure, isolation and treatment of cases, decontamination, and safe burials. We developed the Surveillance and Outbreak Response Management System (SORMAS) to improve efficiency and timeliness of these measures. We used the Design Thinking methodology to systematically analyse experiences from field workers and the Ebola Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) after successful control of the EVD outbreak in Nigeria. We developed a process model with seven personas representing the procedures of EVD outbreak control. The SORMAS system architecture combines latest In-Memory Database (IMDB) technology via SAP HANA (in-memory, relational database management system), enabling interactive data analyses, and established SAP cloud tools, such as SAP Afaria (a mobile device management software). The user interface consists of specific front-ends for smartphones and tablet devices, which are independent from physical configurations. SORMAS allows real-time, bidirectional information exchange between field workers and the EOC, ensures supervision of contact follow-up, automated status reports, and GPS tracking. SORMAS may become a platform for outbreak management and improved routine surveillance of any infectious disease. Furthermore, the SORMAS process model may serve as framework for EVD outbreak modeling.
Highlights
The spread of the current outbreak of Ebola virus disease (EVD) in West Africa has slowed down in most affected areas, but daily case numbers are still high as of 11 March 2015 [1]
By reviewing the processes of the EVD outbreak management in Nigeria, we identified the different Surveillance and Outbreak Response Management System (SORMAS) user types, i.e. personas, involved in the process
An advantage of SORMAS is the usage of the IMBD technology that was applied successfully in the analysis of big enterprise data and medical data, e.g. in supporting the identification of similar patient cases and the protection of markets from injecting pharmaceutical counterfeits [26,27]
Summary
The spread of the current outbreak of Ebola virus disease (EVD) in West Africa has slowed down in most affected areas, but daily case numbers are still high as of 11 March 2015 [1]. At the time of the outbreak, the Ebola reporting tool, called Open Data Kit (ODK) [6] was established to document visits of contact persons, but it did not address case finding, bidirectional information flow and other aspects of outbreak response To address this need, a consortium of Nigerian and German public health and research institutions and a global software company have developed the Surveillance and Outbreak Response Management System (SORMAS). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) developed a VHF module based on EpiInfo for contact tracing [21] It provides support in case management, analysis, and reporting during outbreaks of EVD, Marburg virus, Lassa virus, Rift Valley Fever, and Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever. Data are stored locally until an Internet connection is available
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