Re-launch of Equinella: a web-based equine disease reporting and information platform

Wohlfender-Remy, F.; Struchen, R.; Graubner, Claudia; Balmer, S.; Hadorn, D.

doi:10.1016/j.jevs.2016.02.035

Cited by 4 publications

(6 citation statements)

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“…Indeed, sophisticated web-based applications are increasingly being used for surveillance and complex epidemiological data analysis/visualization (28). For example, a prototype of an animal health and slaughterhouse surveillance data visualization system was recently developed that demonstrated the value of an interactive data hub for the early detection of outbreaks and health trends for equine surveillance in Switzerland (3, 33). The SAVSNET in the United Kingdom has recently started publishing quarterly reports (4) on national practice- and laboratory-based surveillance, though the presentation reasons and diagnoses collected are not based on standardized terms.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…While the concept of using veterinary clinical data and electronic medical records for animal health surveillance is not new (2), considerable advances have recently been made to improve compliance, for example, through the development of web-based data collection systems (3). An automated approach to collecting, sharing, and analyzing veterinary primary care data to understand disorders and improve the welfare of animals was initially pioneered for companion animals by the Royal Veterinary College in the UK (VetCompass 1 ) and similar systems or adaptations are now emerging in different institutions and countries (1, 4, 5).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Evidence in Practice – A Pilot Study Leveraging Companion Animal and Equine Health Data from Primary Care Veterinary Clinics in New Zealand

Muellner¹,

Muellner²,

Gates

et al. 2016

Front. Vet. Sci.

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Veterinary practitioners have extensive knowledge of animal health from their day-to-day observations of clinical patients. There have been several recent initiatives to capture these data from electronic medical records for use in national surveillance systems and clinical research. In response, an approach to surveillance has been evolving that leverages existing computerized veterinary practice management systems to capture animal health data recorded by veterinarians. Work in the United Kingdom within the VetCompass program utilizes routinely recorded clinical data with the addition of further standardized fields. The current study describes a prototype system that was developed based on this approach. In a 4-week pilot study in New Zealand, clinical data on presentation reasons and diagnoses from a total of 344 patient consults were extracted from two veterinary clinics into a dedicated database and analyzed at the population level. New Zealand companion animal and equine veterinary practitioners were engaged to test the feasibility of this national practice-based health information and data system. Strategies to ensure continued engagement and submission of quality data by participating veterinarians were identified, as were important considerations for transitioning the pilot program to a sustainable large-scale and multi-species surveillance system that has the capacity to securely manage big data. The results further emphasized the need for a high degree of usability and smart interface design to make such a system work effectively in practice. The geospatial integration of data from multiple clinical practices into a common operating picture can be used to establish the baseline incidence of disease in New Zealand companion animal and equine populations, detect unusual trends that may indicate an emerging disease threat or welfare issue, improve the management of endemic and exotic infectious diseases, and support research activities. This pilot project is an important step toward developing a national surveillance system for companion animals and equines that moves beyond emerging infectious disease detection to provide important animal health information that can be used by a wide range of stakeholder groups, including participating veterinary practices.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evidence in Practice – A Pilot Study Leveraging Companion Animal and Equine Health Data from Primary Care Veterinary Clinics in New Zealand

Muellner¹,

Muellner²,

Gates

et al. 2016

Front. Vet. Sci.

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“…The CBS tool Equi-Commun was conceptually designed following the structure of the veterinary-based voluntary surveillance system Equinella (33)(34)(35). Print-screens of the tool user interface are presented in the supplementary materials (Supplementary Figure 1).…”

Section: Cbs Tool Development and Testingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The surveillance of equine health in Switzerland currently includes the mandatory reporting of 17 notifiable diseases according to the Swiss animal health law (Federal Council of Switzerland, 1995). In addition, Equinella (www.equinella.ch), a veterinary-based voluntary surveillance system for clinical signs and equine diseases not notifiable by the Swiss law, is in place (33)(34)(35). During a presentation on Equinella at the 2016 Swiss annual scientific conference and network of equine health research, equine practitioners as well as various stakeholders from the Swiss equine industry arouse the question whether equine owners could also contribute to Equinella.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Potential and Challenges of Community-Based Surveillance in Animal Health: A Pilot Study Among Equine Owners in Switzerland

et al. 2021

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Animal owners' potential to observe and report clinical signs, as the persons with the closest contact to their animals, is an often neglected source of information in surveillance. Allowing community members other than health care professionals, such as animal owners, to report health events can contribute to close current surveillance gaps and enhance early detection. In the present study, we tested a community-based surveillance (CBS) approach in the equine community in Switzerland. We aimed at revealing the attitudes and intentions of equine owners toward reporting clinical signs by making use of an online questionnaire. We further set up and operated an online CBS tool, named Equi-Commun. Finally, we investigated potential reasons for the lack of its use by applying qualitative telephone interviews. The majority of the respondents of the online questionnaire (65.5%, 707/1,078) answered that they could see themselves reporting clinical observations of their equine. The multivariate logistic regression analysis indicated that French-speaking equine owners and those belonging to the positive attitude cluster are more likely to report to a CBS tool. Equi-Commun operated between October 2018 and December 2019 yet received only four reports. With the addition of qualitative interviews, we identified three critical, interlinked issues that may have led to the non-use of Equi-Commun within the Swiss equine community: (1) for successfully implementing CBS, the need for surveillance within the community of interest must be given; (2) the respective population under surveillance, here the equine, needs to show enough clinical cases for owners to be able to maintain the memory of an existing tool and its possible use; and (3) targeted and high effort communication of the system is key for its success. While CBS relying only on lay animal owners, complementary to existing surveillance systems, could potentially provide a good proxy of timely surveillance data, it is questionable whether the added value of generated surveillance knowledge is in balance with efforts necessary to implement a successful system. With this study, we showcased both the potential and challenges of CBS in animal health, as this may be of relevance and guidance for future initiatives.

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“…In 2011, it was shown that Equinella's paper format reporting system was no longer representative of the Swiss equine population (33), and Equinella was relaunched in November 2013 as an online reporting and information platform (34). This new version consists of two main pillars: (i) the reporting of clinical signs and syndromes for syndromic surveillance and (ii) the reporting of non-notifiable equine infectious diseases (35). The data collected within Equinella have not been reviewed comprehensively since its online initiation in 2013.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluating 5.5 Years of Equinella: A Veterinary-Based Voluntary Infectious Disease Surveillance System of Equines in Switzerland

et al. 2020

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Equine health is important in regard to trade, economy, society, and the veterinary, as well as public health. To reduce the burden of equine infectious diseases internationally, it is important to collect, review, and distribute equine health surveillance data as accurate and timely as possible. Within this study, we aimed at providing a comprehensive descriptive analysis of data submitted to Equinella, a voluntary veterinary-based surveillance system of non-notifiable equine infectious diseases and clinical signs, in Switzerland. This was achieved by reviewing the reports submitted since its relaunch in November 2013 and until April 2019, as well as assessing the data validity, activeness of participating veterinarians, coverage of the equine population, geographical representativeness, and timeliness of the system. In total, 630 reports have been submitted. Data validity ranged between 88.2 and 100%. The coverage of Equinella was assessed to be 50.8% of the Swiss equine population. Over the 5.5 years, of all 102 registered veterinarians, 67 (65.7%) submitted at least one report. On average, these veterinarians submitted 1.7 reports per year (median = 4 reports). More recently, in 2018, approximately only one-third [29 (28.4%)] of all registered veterinarians submitted at least one report. However, 59 (57.8%) have responded to the monthly reminder emails to confirm that they have not observed any relevant clinical case to be reported at least once (median number of confirmation per veterinarian = 9 of 12 reminder emails). The incidence of reports varied between cantons (member states of the Swiss confederation). The median timeliness of report submission was found to be 7 days. Overall, Equinella has been receiving reports since its initiation and contributed continuously to the surveillance of infectious diseases in the Swiss equine population and provided an output for the international equine community. Challenges encountered in achieving a higher number of submitted reports and increasing the coverage of the equine population, as well as the overall activeness of veterinarians, require further work. With our study, we provide a comprehensive overview of a veterinary-based voluntary surveillance system for equine health, assessed challenges of such, and suggest concrete improvements with transdisciplinary approaches for similar veterinary-based surveillance systems.

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Re-launch of Equinella: a web-based equine disease reporting and information platform

Cited by 4 publications

References 0 publications

Evidence in Practice – A Pilot Study Leveraging Companion Animal and Equine Health Data from Primary Care Veterinary Clinics in New Zealand

Evidence in Practice – A Pilot Study Leveraging Companion Animal and Equine Health Data from Primary Care Veterinary Clinics in New Zealand

Potential and Challenges of Community-Based Surveillance in Animal Health: A Pilot Study Among Equine Owners in Switzerland

Evaluating 5.5 Years of Equinella: A Veterinary-Based Voluntary Infectious Disease Surveillance System of Equines in Switzerland

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