Multinational Disease Surveillance Programs: Promoting Global Information Exchange for Infectious Diseases.

Cross-border surveillance for emerging diseases such as Ebola and other infectious diseases requires effective international collaboration. We surveyed representatives from 12 multinational disease surveillance pro- grams between January 2013 and April 2014. Our survey identified programmatic similarities despite variation in health priorities, geography, and socioeconomic context, providing a contemporary perspective on infectious disease surveillance networks. The 2005 International Health Regulations (IHR) require member states to report to the World Health Organization (WHO) public health events of international concern, in recognition that a broad array of infectious diseases, environ- mental issues, and other public health concerns cross interna- tional borders and often necessitate an international response. 1