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Journal of Public Health Advance Access published online on April 15, 2008
Journal of Public Health, doi:10.1093/pubmed/fdn026
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© The Author 2008, Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Faculty of Public Health. All rights reserved

Evaluation of a syndromic surveillance for the early detection of outbreaks among military personnel in a tropical country


Henry Jefferson, MD Student1
Bruce Dupuy, Information Technology Manager2
Hervé Chaudet, Associate Professor of Public Health3
Gaetan Texier, Consultant of Public Health4
Andrew Green, Consultant of Public Health5
Guy Barnish, Senior Fellow in Parasitology1
Jean-Paul Boutin, Professor of Public Health4
Jean-Baptiste Meynard, Consultant of Public Health2

1 Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Liverpool, UK
2 Institut Pasteur de la Guyane, 23 avenue Pasteur, BP 6010, 97306 Cayenne Cedex, French Guiana
3 Université de la Méditerranée, Marseille, France
4 Institut de Médecine Tropicale du Service de santé des armées, Marseille, France
5 Defence Medical Services Department, London, UK


Address correspondence to Dr Jean-Baptiste Meynard, E-mail: jbmeynard{at}pasteur-cayenne.fr


  Abstract

Background To evaluate a new military syndromic surveillance system (2SE FAG) set up in French Guiana.

Methods The evaluation was made using the current framework published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, USA. Two groups of system stakeholders, for data input and data analysis, were interviewed using semi-structured questionnaires to assess timeliness, data quality, acceptability, usefulness, stability, portability and flexibility of the system. Validity was assessed by comparing the syndromic system with the routine traditional weekly surveillance system.

Results Qualitative data showed a degree of poor acceptability among people who have to enter data. Timeliness analysis showed excellent case processing time, hindered by delays in case reporting. Analysis of stability indicated a high level of technical problems. System flexibility was found to be high. Quantitative data analysis of validity indicated better agreement between syndromic and traditional surveillance when reporting on dengue fever cases as opposed to other diseases.

Conclusions The sophisticated technical design of 2SE FAG has resulted in a system which is able to carry out its role as an early warning system. Efforts must be concentrated on increasing its acceptance and use by people who have to enter data and decreasing the occurrence of the frequency of technical problems.

Keywords: early warning, evaluation, real-time surveillance, syndromic surveillance


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