Abstract:
In the battle against the scourge of infectious diseases, a robust
system for disease surveillance is required. This is partly to provide
early information when outbreaks threaten, so that they can be
curtailed by intervention; and also to be able to monitor the effects
of disease prevention and control measures. In addition, a good
system of surveillance may be relied upon for resource allocation
decisions and for targeting research into disease causation and
control. Travellers (and those who give them medical advice) may
have their own reasons to be interested in timeous and accurate
surveillance information. It would also be useful to have a parallel
system for surveillance of risk factors for infectious diseases
(vectors, climate, social disturbances and so on).
