The following is an excerpt (Chapter 1) from the
Surveillance and Data Standards for
USDA/APHIS/Veterinary Services, version 1.0 (July 2006 ) that was developed by the Centers for
Epidemiology and Animal Health in July 2006. This Chapter provides standards and guidelines
for planning and evaluation surveillance systems.
Chapter 1 Standards for the Key Components of
a Surveillance System
The information in Chapter 1 is intended to assist epidemiologists and surveillance experts who
may be developing new surveillance systems or evaluating and improving existing systems. The
guidelines provide an overview and generalized framework for details likely to be considered for
comprehensive and efficient surveillance. The guide is not intended to be prescriptive or to
define mandatory items for inclusion by surveillance architects, but instead to provide a useful
tool to expedite development and review processes.
Four categories of information are included in the chapter (see Table 1). First is the introductory
information that should lay the foundation for the surveillance system. These standards address
components such as purpose, objective, and outcomes of the system, as well as basic
considerations about the disease of interest and the people who collect, analyze, or base
decisions on the resulting information. The second concept involves standards related to the
design of the sampling strategy and data collection. Following this, a group of standards aid the
surveillance professional in planning the appropriate analysis and reporting for the data collected.
Finally, several guidelines are presented for the implementation and evaluation of the surveillance
after a plan is developed.
Table 1. Summary of Standards For Key Components of a Surveillance System
Concept
Standards:
Introductory
Information
1.1 Disease Description
1.2 Purpose and Rationale for Surveillance
1.3 Surveillance Objectives: Principal Uses of Data for Decision-Making
1.4 Expected Outcomes: Products, Decisions and Actions
1.5 Stakeholders and Responsible Parties
Population
Description and
Sampling Methods
1.6 Population Description and Characteristics
1.7 Case Definitions
1.8 Data Sources
1.9 Sampling Methods
Analysis,
Reporting, and
Presentation
1.10 Data Analysis and Interpretation
1.11 Data Presentation and Reporting
Implementation,
Budget, and
Evaluation
1.12 Surveillance System Implementation: Priorities, Timelines, and
Internal Communications
1.13 Budget
1.14 Surveillance Plan Performance Metrics
1.15 Surveillance System Evaluation
1.1 Disease Description
Standard:
The surveillance planning documents include current and relevant supporting
information about the disease under surveillance.
a. Information included in the disease description is used to develop the case
definitions. See standard 1.7.
Supporting Information:
The following classes should be included in the disease description section of the
surveillance planning documents, or in documents describing the rationale of the
surveillance system.
Class Guidelines
Etiologic agent
General categories: Virus, bacteria, toxin, external parasite,
internal parasite, etc.
Taxonomic classification: Family, genus, species; see
.
Common name of the disease or condition.
Pathogen strain or serotype.
Distribution
Available information about location of current cases of
disease should be identified. See location guidelines in
Chapter 2.
For FAD and diseases affecting trade, distribution throughout
the world, at least by continent, should be included.
For endemic diseases, distribution should be defined at the
tertiary or lowest available administrative levels when
possible, (e.g., National, State, or county.)
Clinical signs
Description is targeted for the general practitioner audience.
Case definitions
Criteria for a positive case, negative case, and others as
applicable: Suspect, reactor, laboratory positive, etc. See
standard 1.7, case definitions.
Pathological findings
Necropsy results may be necessary for case finding, case
definition, or passive reporting of cases.
For lab-based surveillance and reporting, standards should be
compatible with laboratory standards. See Chapter 2.
Epidemiology
Considers and discusses the likelihood of disease
introduction, outbreak, or change of status.
Includes industry and management factors affecting disease
transmission, (e.g., confinement operations, biosecurity
practices, or industry awareness.)
Provides measures or estimates of frequency, (e.g.,
prevalence, incidence, morbidity rate, mortality rate, or case
fatality rate.)
Transmission factors such as contagiousness, virulence of
Surveillance and Data Systems for USDA/APHIS/VS
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