COVID-19: Can a tool help to track outbreaks?

From the year 1918 influenza pandemic to the modern-day virus COVID-19, the movement of people has helped disease travel quickly around the world. But in the age of technological advancements, we do have tools that can help to track outbreaks.

Managing any kind of viral outbreak requires the highest levels of visibility and coordination across all facets of a crisis to ensure prevention, protection, and recovery for those at risk. Technology management is an integral weapon in the fight against a disease outbreak.

CiOL spoke to Donna Migoni is a General Manager, Government Health Services at Conduent Inc. to understand if a tool can help to track outbreaks.

How does the disease tracking software work?

The disease tracking software is used primarily by public health agencies, at the state and local levels, to securely collect and track data on people who are affected by diseases or outbreaks. The application like Maven is a secure web-based platform and allows the public health agencies that use it the ability to quickly make changes to the data, the tracking, and notifications, as well as the underlying tables and necessary reports.

Does the tool predict a possible outbreak of an infectious disease before it reaches pandemic levels?

While it does not allow for the prediction of newly occurring infectious diseases, it does provide public health agencies with an invaluable tool for tracking outbreaks. With the data collected, agencies can monitor outbreaks as they occur, and they can use the data to analyze the nature of the outbreak and devise strategies for combating the spread of the disease.

How does it make the life of health agencies easier?

The tool supports data sharing, integration, and coordination among medical professionals on the front lines of communicable disease prevention and containment. It is scalable and easily configurable for changing technologies, protocols and geographic locations. The system also uses intuitive, integrated portals that allow multiple stakeholders to quickly record and share information.

The reporting function also depends on how states and localities report to their federal or national system, and how that information is then shared with international agencies. In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has devised a method of reporting coronavirus cases.

The disease surveillance and outbreak systems

1. Commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) solutions and customized software tools require vendor improvements and upgrades when outbreaks arise, or when the CDC issues changes to its reporting requirements.

2. Maven is configured to support any public health program’s immediate needs and can be modified on the fly, without relying on specialized software updates when an outbreak strikes or changes arise in regulatory requirements. Click here to read more about How Maven Simplifies Outbreak Surveillance.