Bioterror system reveals other patterns and illnesses in EDs

These are some of the patterns and unusual illnesses detected by the bioterrorism surveillance system being used in some Florida hospitals:

• A rash illness was identified as Fifth’s Disease among international guests at a theme park.
• Several community cases of meningitis and encephalitis were spotted.
• The system detected significant regional increases in gastroenteritis illnesses that were later identified as norovirus. The problem was detected more than a month before the Florida Department of Health saw the same pattern.
• ED managers were alerted to regional spikes of influenzalike illness and respiratory tract infection with fever, which they considered early indicators of the onset of flu season.

Source: Celebration (FL) Health.