The EIOS Experience
While Phase 1 of EIOS expansion has only just begun, several stakeholders have been piloting the system, helping to provide initial feedback for system improvements. From global intentional threats to regional routine intelligence, animal health to mass gatherings, we'll hear from some of these pioneers, learning about the different ways in which user groups have worked within the EIOS system to create and implement processes and protocols to meet the unique needs of their communities.
Italy: Working within the EIOS system - from international collaboration to national opportunities
Flavia Riccardo, Researcher, National Institute of Health - Istituto Superiore di Sanita (ISS), Italy
Italy has started exploring domestic implementation of event-based surveillance and has participated in the GHSAG Early Alerting and Reporting (EAR) project as evaluator and analyst since 2009. This area benefits from a long-standing collaboration between the Ministry of Health and the National Institute of Health - Istituto Superiore di Sanita (ISS). The transition to the EIOS system was successfully performed by Italy within GHSAG EAR and has been fruitful and beneficial allowing collaborative teamwork in this specific diffuse model of event-based surveillance implementation. The possibility of discussing opportunities for EIOS use also at a national level would be very welcome.
The Implementation of EIOS at Africa CDC
Jay Varma, Senior Adviser, Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention
Africa CDC has begun using EIOS for continent-wide event-based surveillance. This presentation will review the progress and challenges of implementing this system at Africa CDC.
FAO: Using the EIOS system to monitor and track animal and zoonotic diseases
Cristina Rojo, Veterinary Epidemiologist, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
The animal health disease intelligence team at FAO regularly monitors and tracks animal diseases information. FAO uses the EIOS system for internet-based surveillance by monitoring articles captured in ten different boards. Presently, the FAO community has 17 users all located at headquarters and one team for the seven members of the animal disease intelligence team. The EIOS tool has facilitated capturing relevant news and the preparation of updates and alerts (e.g. the weekly Animal Health Threats Update, Rift Valley Fever alerts) and weekly news called Global Health News on Animal and Public Health for wide dissemination within FAO.
OIE: Using EIOS in active search and its impact on disease notification at global level
Paolo Tizzani, Veterinary Epidemiologist, World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE)
The OIE is the only international organisation with a global legal framework that allows it to request, collect, and release global animal health information. Since 2002, the OIE has been operating its own system of active search for non-official information related to animal health. Information found through this activity is compared with the data collected in the OIE World Animal Health Information System and, where necessary, verification is sought from the Member Country concerned. With the creation of EIOS, the OIE significantly improved this activity. The impact of EIOS on OIE activity and on disease notification will be presented and discussed.
Japan: Application of EIOS to mass gathering events
Tomoe Shimada, Senior Researcher, National Institute of Infectious Diseases Japan (NIID)
This presentation describes Japan's use of EIOS starting with a pilot of the system during the G20 summit in the summer of 2019 followed by scale-up during the Rugby World Cup in fall 2019. The presentation ends with some highlights of lessons learned from these two experiences and plans for using EIOS for media monitoring during the Tokyo Olympics in 2020.
EIOS use in the WHO European Region: Past and Future
Lauren MacDonald (Consultant) & Silviu Ciobanu (Technical Officer), World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe
Until recently, EIOS was used in the European Region for mass gathering events only. No significant signal or event was missed during the FIFA 2018 World Football Championship in the Russian Federation as cross-checked against other event-based surveillance approaches employed in parallel. A systematic and collaborative approach is underway to explore the use of EIOS for routine signal detection, whereby regional experts collaborated to devise surveillance system parameters and search strategies. Initial results demonstrate the acceptability of EIOS in the daily work of the epidemic intelligence team. Early phase testing will help refine methods for SOP development.