1. How can surveillance help to detect and control dengue?
Surveillance helps us know disease trends, seasonal patterns, geographic spread and vulnerable groups. This information is useful for planning actions like vector control or vaccination. Surveillance monitors trends to track changes in incidence and evaluate the impact of interventions. Most importantly, it can detect outbreaks early. Surveillance data can inform health authorities and stakeholders, both locally and across borders for timely coordinated action. When we find an outbreak quickly, we can respond fast and stop the disease from spreading.
2. Should we conduct active or passive surveillance or both for the disease, why?
Passive surveillance means health facilities report cases to authorities. It is cheaper and easier but often misses mild or unreported cases. Active surveillance means health workers look for cases in communities. It finds more cases but costs more and needs more staff. The best way is to use both. Passive surveillance for regular monitoring and active surveillance during outbreaks or in high-risk areas.
3. Which method should be best to identify cases, why?
a. Medical facilities vs community
Hospitals and clinics are good for finding severe cases, but they miss mild cases and people who cannot access care. Community surveillance finds these cases and is useful for outbreak control. For dengue, using both is best.
b. Sentinel vs population-based
Sentinel surveillance uses a few selected sites. It gives good quality data but cannot show incidence rates. Population-based surveillance covers all facilities in an area and gives incidence rates, but it is expensive. For dengue, sentinel sites are good for trends and virus types, while population-based is better for national burden.
c. Case-based vs aggregated
Case-based surveillance collects details for each case, which helps in outbreak investigation. Aggregated data only shows total numbers and is easier for routine reporting. For dengue, case-based is better during outbreaks; aggregated is fine for regular monitoring.
d. Syndromic vs laboratory-confirmed
Syndromic surveillance uses symptoms like fever and rash. It is fast but not very accurate. Laboratory-confirmed surveillance is accurate and shows virus types, but it takes more time and resources. For dengue, start with syndromic for quick alerts and confirm with lab tests.
4. What dissemination tools will you choose to disseminate monkeypox surveillance information? Why do you choose this/these tools?
Monkeypox needs fast communication because it can spread quickly. I would use:
Weekly or monthly reports for detailed updates to health authorities.
Dashboards for the health autorities and general public.
Cross-border coordination meetings and working groups for real-time sharing.
Online platforms like ProMED or HealthMap for real-time alerts and global sharing.
