Shiloh
Editor, Senior Moderator
Source: http://www.tropika.net/svc/news/20100401/Chinnock-20100401-News-Dengue
Following the spread of dengue
1 Apr 2010
Paul Chinnock
Source: TropIKA.net
New dengue fever outbreaks have been recently reported in national media sources across the tropical world, making clear both the continuing rise in case numbers and the consequent public alarm. The expected onset of the El Ni?o, which has previously been associated with a rise in dengue cases, is adding to the current level of concern. But it is not easy for researchers, policy makers and other interested parties to get a clear and reliable picture of how dengue is spreading. A new initiative from the Pediatric Dengue Vaccine Initiative (PDVI) will go some way towards meeting their needs.
PDVI?s DengueWATCH website will display breaking news articles from reliable sources on a world map. PDVI?s Acting Director Dr John Clemens says, ?DengueWATCH is an important public health tool providing instant access to news regarding dengue fever epidemics and their impact on global health. We believe that news reports about dengue hot spots and other important developments can help public health officials track the spread and understand the growing importance of this disease?.
DengueWATCH will use worldwide news alerts provided by Healthmap.org, a system based at the Children?s Hospital Boston, Massachusetts, USA. Also collaborating in the project are the Harvard Medical School, MIT Media Lab and the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology. Outbreak data from sources of varying reliability will be integrated, ranging from news reports to personal accounts (such as those on ProMED) and validated official alerts (such as those from WHO). Dengue news is aggregated and displayed by location for user-friendly access to the original alert.
Dr John Brownstein, co-founder of Healthmap.org said, ?We are proud to collaborate with PDVI for DengueWATCH and we believe it can help foster surveillance and prevention of dengue fever worldwide.?
Countries with concerns
TropIKA.net?s own search for the latest news on dengue reveals that many countries in Latin America and Asia are anticipating that 2010 will prove to be a bad year for cases of the disease...
Following the spread of dengue
1 Apr 2010
Paul Chinnock
Source: TropIKA.net
New dengue fever outbreaks have been recently reported in national media sources across the tropical world, making clear both the continuing rise in case numbers and the consequent public alarm. The expected onset of the El Ni?o, which has previously been associated with a rise in dengue cases, is adding to the current level of concern. But it is not easy for researchers, policy makers and other interested parties to get a clear and reliable picture of how dengue is spreading. A new initiative from the Pediatric Dengue Vaccine Initiative (PDVI) will go some way towards meeting their needs.
PDVI?s DengueWATCH website will display breaking news articles from reliable sources on a world map. PDVI?s Acting Director Dr John Clemens says, ?DengueWATCH is an important public health tool providing instant access to news regarding dengue fever epidemics and their impact on global health. We believe that news reports about dengue hot spots and other important developments can help public health officials track the spread and understand the growing importance of this disease?.
DengueWATCH will use worldwide news alerts provided by Healthmap.org, a system based at the Children?s Hospital Boston, Massachusetts, USA. Also collaborating in the project are the Harvard Medical School, MIT Media Lab and the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology. Outbreak data from sources of varying reliability will be integrated, ranging from news reports to personal accounts (such as those on ProMED) and validated official alerts (such as those from WHO). Dengue news is aggregated and displayed by location for user-friendly access to the original alert.
Dr John Brownstein, co-founder of Healthmap.org said, ?We are proud to collaborate with PDVI for DengueWATCH and we believe it can help foster surveillance and prevention of dengue fever worldwide.?
Countries with concerns
TropIKA.net?s own search for the latest news on dengue reveals that many countries in Latin America and Asia are anticipating that 2010 will prove to be a bad year for cases of the disease...