Data quality and timeliness of outbreak reporting system among countries in Greater Mekong subregion: Challenges for international data sharing

Abstract

Cross-border disease transmission is a key challenge for prevention and control of outbreaks. Variation in surveillance structure and national guidelines used in different countries can affect their data quality and the timeliness of outbreak reports. This study aimed to evaluate timeliness and data quality of national outbreak reporting for four countries in the Mekong Basin Disease Surveillance network (MBDS). Data on disease outbreaks occurring from 2010 to 2015 were obtained from the national disease surveillance reports of Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, and Vietnam. Data included total cases, geographical information, and dates at different timeline milestones in the outbreak detection process. Nine diseases or syndromes with public health importance were selected for the analysis including: dengue, food poisoning & diarrhea, severe diarrhea, diphtheria, measles, H5N1 influenza, H1N1 influenza, rabies, and pertussis. Overall, 2,087 outbreaks were reported from the four countries. The number of outbreaks and number of cases per outbreak varied across countries and diseases, depending in part on the outbreak definition used in each country. Dates on index onset, report, and response were >95% complete in all countries, while laboratory confirmation dates were 10%-100% incomplete in most countries. Inconsistent and out of range date data were observed in 1%-5% of records. The overall timeliness of outbreak report, response, and public communication was within 1–15 days, depending on countries and diseases. Diarrhea and severe diarrhea outbreaks showed the most rapid time to report and response, whereas diseases such as rabies, pertussis and diphtheria required a longer time to report and respond. The hierarchical structure of the reporting system, data collection method, and country’s resources could affect the data quality and timeliness of the national outbreak reporting system. Differences in data quality and timeliness of outbreak reporting system among member countries should be considered when planning data sharing strategies within a regional network.

Improving Cross-Border Preparedness and Response: Lessons Learned from 3 Lassa Fever Outbreaks Across Benin, Nigeria, and Togo, 2017-2019

“…5 In addition to the IHR reporting mechanism, intergovernmental bodies and regional disease surveillance networks around the world facilitate public health information sharing and coordination in smaller groups of neighboring countries. 6,7 For example, the 15-country Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) published formal regulations in 2015 to support regional information sharing. 8 Collectively, these regulations and networks facilitate global and multinational situational awareness and public health resource allocation for preparedness and response.…”

On the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Outbreak and the Smart City Network: Universal Data Sharing Standards Coupled with Artificial Intelligence (AI) to Benefit Urban Health Monitoring and Management

“…This can be achieved by ensuring that protocols on data sharing are calibrated to remove all hurdles pertaining to sharing of information. On this, Lawpoolsri et al [30] posits that such issues, like transparency, timelessness of sharing and access and quality of data, should be upheld so that continuous monitoring and assessment can be pursued.…”

Involvement of the open-source community in combating the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic: a review

“…Open-source and collaborative global information sharing can thus support the response to an emerging disease outbreak. However, data sharing is a complex task; issues such as inconsistent disease definitions, incomplete data collection, and incompatible reporting systems can compromise the quality and utility of data [52].…”