SHORT COMMUNICATION
Year : 2020 | Volume
: 4 | Issue : 4 | Page : 134--135
Significance of surveillance in COVID-19 pandemic and adoption of innovative strategies for its strengthening
Saurabh RamBihariLal Shrivastava1, Prateek Saurabh Shrivastava2,
1 Member of the Medical Education Unit and Institute Research Council, Sri Balaji Vidyapeeth – Deemed to be University, Ammapettai, Nellikuppam, Chengalpet District, Tamil Nadu, India
2 Department of Community Medicine, Shri Sathya Sai Medical College and Research Institute, Sri Balaji Vidyapeeth – Deemed to be University, Ammapettai, Nellikuppam, Chengalpet District, Tamil Nadu, India
Correspondence Address:
Dr. Saurabh RamBihariLal Shrivastava
Department of Community Medicine, Shri Sathya Sai Medical College and Research Institute, Sri Balaji Vidyapeeth (SBV) – Deemed to be University, Tiruporur - Guduvancherry Main Road, Ammapettai, Nellikuppam, Chengalpaet District - 603108, Tamil Nadu
India
Abstract
The Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has spread rapidly across the globe and has impacted each and every community directly or indirectly. Amidst the various components which require strengthening for the successful containment, surveillance is a critical aspect and it significantly aids in reducing the spread of the infection by empowering the public health authorities with the right information. Acknowledging the importance of surveillance, the need of the hour is to strengthen surveillance through adoption of digital technologies which aid in the rapid reporting & data analysis, and even expand in regions with lesser number of cases. In conclusion, surveillance is an integral component of the preparedness and emergency response against the COVID-19 pandemic. It is the need of the hour to adopt innovative strategies to ensure that surveillance is strengthened and we succeed in obtaining comprehensive information about the disease and its spread in the community.
How to cite this article:
Shrivastava SR, Shrivastava PS. Significance of surveillance in COVID-19 pandemic and adoption of innovative strategies for its strengthening.Matrix Sci Med 2020;4:134-135
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How to cite this URL:
Shrivastava SR, Shrivastava PS. Significance of surveillance in COVID-19 pandemic and adoption of innovative strategies for its strengthening. Matrix Sci Med [serial online] 2020 [cited 2023 Mar 30 ];4:134-135
Available from: https://www.matrixscimed.org/text.asp?2020/4/4/134/297631 |
Full Text
Introduction
The Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID 19) pandemic has spread rapidly globally and has impacted each and every community directly or indirectly. Till date, 6799713 cases and 397388 deaths have been reported, and these estimates continue to rise with each day.[1] In fact, a wide range of public health and social measures have been planned and implemented in different settings, including restricting domestic and international travel, closure of educational institutions, avoiding social gatherings, the imposition of lockdown, etc., to effectively contain the outbreak of the disease.[2]
Surveillance and COVID-19 infection
Among the various components which require strengthening for the successful containment, surveillance is a critical aspect, and it significantly aids in reducing the spread of the infection by empowering the public health authorities with the right information.[2,3] The implementation of comprehensive surveillance assists the program managers in ensuring early detection and isolation of suspects, identification and follow up of contacts for the development of symptoms, specific planning and implementation of containment measures, identification of outbreaks in vulnerable population groups, evaluation of the impact of the implemented strategies, and monitoring of the trends and evolution of the virus. Surveillance further plays a very important role in relaxing the restrictions imposed during the lockdown and thus guide the public health authorities to implement control measures.[2 4]
Strengthening surveillance
Acknowledging the importance of surveillance, the need of the hour is to strengthen surveillance through the adoption of digital technologies which aid in the rapid reporting and data analysis and even expand in regions with lesser number of cases.[2,3] At the same time, it is important to ensure that the disease is included as a notifiable disease, and we encourage immediate reporting wherever feasible. Further, the planned surveillance has to be conducted at all levels and utilize the existing framework of surveillance addressing respiratory illnesses, like the Global Influenza Surveillance and Response System.[2] Moreover, the surveillance activities have to be implemented in both primary care settings as well as the hospital level to avoid missing out on any of the cases.[2]
Role of community
The members of the community can play a crucial role in surveillance by either participating in contact tracing or self reporting.[5] This process of participatory surveillance, in which members of the community report their symptoms to the health care providers without being subjected to the laboratory tests or assessment by health professionals, has its own significance, and it removes the possibility of a delay in reporting.[6]
Innovative types of surveillance
Further, the program managers can also utilize event based surveillance, which predominantly targets formal and informal sources like online content or print media, etc.[2] Another option is to initiate telephone hotline services that can be utilized by the general population either for necessary advice or for appropriate referral to health centers, but indirectly it gives the public health authorities an indication about the spread of the disease in the community.[2] In addition, the option of expanding surveillance activities toward serological testing and environmental samples should also be explored by the public health authorities.[2 4]
Conclusion
In conclusion, surveillance is an integral component of the preparedness and emergency response against the COVID 19 pandemic. It is the need of the hour to adopt innovative strategies to ensure that surveillance is strengthened, and we succeed in obtaining comprehensive information about the disease and its spread in the community.
Financial support and sponsorship
Nil.
Conflicts of interest
There are no conflicts of interest.
References
| 1 | World Health Organization. Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Situation Report – 139; 2020. Available from: https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/situation-reports. [Last accessed on 2020 Jun 08]. |
| 2 | World Health Organization. Surveillance Strategies for COVID-19 Human Infection-Interim Guidance. Geneva: WHO Press; 2020. p. 1-5. |
| 3 | Calvo RA, Deterding S, Ryan RM. Health surveillance during covid-19 pandemic. BMJ 2020;369:m1373. |
| 4 | Luo H, Lie Y, Prinzen FW. Surveillance of COVID-19 in the general population using an online questionnaire: Report from 18,161 respondents in China. JMIR Public Health Surveill 2020;6:e18576. |
| 5 | Shrivastava SR, Shrivastava PS. Corona virus disease 2019 pandemic: Encouraging involvement of community workers in the active search of cases. MAMC J Med Sci 2020;6:39-40. |
| 6 | Garg S, Bhatnagar N, Gangadharan N. A case for participatory disease surveillance of the COVID-19 pandemic in India. JMIR Public Health Surveill 2020;6:e18795. |
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