The strategy was to emulate a domain expert's use of ESSENCE by means of a BN whose inputs were outputs of alerting algorithms (1) applied to data streams chosen for specificity to acute illness in outpatient encounters, laboratory tests and prescribed medications in the chosen syndromes. Efforts were restricted to 5 syndrome groups seen as amenable to fusion of the ESSENCE sources: influenza-like illness, gastrointestinal, fever, rash and neurological.