Early Detection, Early Response

I had the privilege of taking PM 546 Bioterrorism with the esteemed Dr. Marc Strassburg last semester, who was a member of the WHO team that eradicated smallpox with door to door surveillance and containment of the virus through a circle of immunizations around each case in India and Africa. Larry Brilliant's concept of an early detection system "INSTEDD" (video at: http://tedblog.typepad.com/tedblog/files/larrybrilliant.html ) which consists of web crawlers in various different languages, which would detect illness much sooner than the WHO, is a demonstration of the contribution of modern technology to Public Health as well as numerous other disciplines.

In the age of instantaneous communication, international travel, and re/emergence of infectious disease, the ability to detect and respond to emerging infections and epidemics through real time global surveillance via the internet is the necessary next step in the evolution of Public Health. H5N1 or Avian Flu has the capacity to spread faster than ever before because of increased international travel and globalization, as SARS demonstrated in 2003. As public health professionals we must be ready to combat pandemic influenza through All-Hazards Preparation, effective risk communication, and early detection/response. Technology like INSTEDD will be an invaluable tool in combatting the pandemic. And while, noble men like Drs. Strassburg and Brilliant helped eradicate smallpox by tackling each and every case in remote parts of the globe, we cannot possibly hope to combat re-emerging infections and new infectious disease without the sophisticated real time results and capacity that modern technology facilitates.