| Home > Events > Biosafety and Biorisks Conference, 2005 > speakers > pollack Global Digital Awareness of Disease Outbreaks: The Experience of ProMED
Presenter: Marjorie Pollack, M.D. slide thumbnails slide show The ProMED-mail electronic outbreak reporting system (abbreviated ProMED) is a moderated email list-serve used to monitor emerging infectious diseases globally. Dr. Pollack's presentation focused on ProMed's role in global public health as an informal, internet-based early warning system. ProMED collects information on health threats from official reports, the media, and individual subscribers. It screens the information, and then sends it via email, along with expert commentary, to 33,000 subscribers in more than 150 countries. The system monitors human disease and exposure to toxins, as well as plant and animal diseases. Electronic communication enables ProMED to provide up-to-date and reliable news about health threats around the world so that action can be taken to prevent epidemics and save lives. In 2003, ProMED played an integral role in drawing attention to the outbreak of atypical pneumonia in China that marked the beginning of the worldwide SARS crisis (see slide 14). Drawing from ProMED's experience with the SARS and avian influenza crises, Pollack asserted that because we live in a "global village," no single institution has the capacity to address disease surveillance completely. Pollack also briefly outlined regional programs being undertaken by ProMED, including communications in Spanish, Portuguese, and Russian; disease surveillance collaboration in the Mekong basin; and an integrated disease surveillance network in east Africa. As this presentation demonstrated, by combining rapid reporting, expert commentary, and a forum for cooperation among diverse groups involved in public health, ProMED augments the world's surveillance and response to global health threats. - Summary by Brad Kramer return to top next summary |
