History and evolution of surveillance in public health

History and evolution of surveillance in public health

Varun Kumar

The modern concept of surveillance has evolved over the centuries. Publichealth surveillance provides the scientific database essential for decisionmaking and appropriate public health action. It is considered as the bestpublic health tool to prevent the occurrence of epidemics and is thebackbone of public health programs and provides information so thateffective action can be taken in controlling and preventing diseases of publichealth importance. This article reviews the history of evolution of publichealth surveillance from historical perspective: from Hippocrates, BlackDeath and quarantine, recording of vital events for the first time, first fieldinvestigation, legislations that were developed over time and modernconcepts in public health surveillance. Eradication of small pox is animportant achievement in public health surveillance but the recent SevereAcute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and Influenza pandemics suggest still there is a room for improvement. Recently new global disease surveillance networks like FluNet and DengueNet were developed as internet sites for monitoring influenza and dengue information. In spite of these developments, global public health surveillance still remains unevenly distributed. There is a need for increased international cooperation to address the global needs of public health surveillance.

2014

History, evolution, Surveillance

DOI:

Global Journal of Medicine and Public Health

Makhdoomi Printers

Medicine

EN