Real-Time Public Health Biosurveillance

Biosurveillance includes all efforts by public health officials to capture and interpret information about hazards and threats of public health significance, including naturally occurring outbreaks of diseases, reportable conditions and syndromes, occurrences of zoonotic diseases, environmental exposures, natural disasters, and conditions caused by acts of terrorism. Partnerships, such as those between governments and the private sector, non-governmental organizations, healthcare providers, public utilities, and the veterinary medicine community, are a critical component of a comprehensive approach to biosurveillance. Partnerships allow for the collection of data from diverse sources and allow for the inclusion of a range of stakeholders. However, establishing biosurveillance systems with the capacity to quickly collect, analyze and exchange diverse types of data across stakeholder groups is not without practical, technological, political, legal, and ethical challenges. This chapter first explores recent biosurveillance efforts, then examines the legal and policy structure and considerations associated with biosurveillance efforts, and finally provides a framework for considering the needs of stakeholders in the development of new biosurveillance systems.