Question

One of the most important things that an epidemiologist might do is called surveillance. Surveillance is about monitoring disease trends in order to understand how disease functions in populations. It also allows epidemiologists to recognize unusual trends and intervene. There are two major types of surveillance, which are active surveillance and passive surveillance. Please explain each type with an example of how it is used.

Answer 1

Ans. Active disease surveillance is when state or local officials actively search for information by contacting healthcare providers, laboratories, schools, nursing homes, work places, etc. For example, during a cluster investigation of E.

Active surveillance may be used to avoid or delay the need for treatments such as radiation therapy or surgery, which can cause side effects or other problems. During active surveillance, certain exams and tests are done on a regular schedule.

It can feel counterintuitive to be told that you have cancer, but that the best option is to sit and wait. But studies show that men with low-risk prostate cancer who have been on Active Surveillance for 10 to 15 years after diagnosis have remarkably low rates of their disease spreading or dying of prostate cancer.

Passive Surveillance: While reporting is required by law, there is no practical way of enforcing adherence, so disease frequency is under reported.

Examples of passive surveillance systems include the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA's) Adverse Events Reporting System (AERS), which is focused on patient safety, and the Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (VAERS), which is operated by the CDC in conjunction with the FDA and is concerned with the negative