Each chapter on a specific disease contains a background of the disease including a brief history, a short description of the transmission process, clinical features, and other characteristics of the disease that are important for surveillance. The available data are described, as well as the strengths and weaknesses of the surveillance system. This is followed by a summary of disease trends and a concluding section. A list of reference documents and web pages are also available. The surveillance of a communicable disease is fundamental for disease prevention and control.
Surveillance provides information for action.
These activities involve similar functions and very often use the same structure, processes and personnel. Surveillance is based on collecting only the information that is required to achieve control objectives of diseases. Data requested may differ from disease to disease and some diseases may have specific information needs, requiring specialized systems. Strengthening national, regional and global communicable disease surveillance for timely and appropriate public health response is central to disease prevention and control. It is, therefore, a key component of communicable disease surveillance and response.