Tuesday, 15 December, 2020 - 08:43
A new ESR study has found that internet searches, Healthline calls and school absenteeism data could alert health officials to a disease outbreak days ahead of other systems.
The ESR researchers used the 2016 Havelock North Campylobacter outbreak to investigate whether these alternative data sources could have provided an earlier indication of the campylobacter cases in the community - and the results were conclusive.
The 2016 campylobacter outbreak began on August 8, but the full extent of the outbreak was not known until August 14. Researchers’ modelling found that they could have detected an increase in cases up to five days before the outbreak was detected via traditional pathways.