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ProMED-mail

ProMED-mail
DeveloperInternational Society for Infectious Diseases
Initial release1994
Marketing targetPublic health
Official websitewww.promedmail.org

Program for Monitoring Emerging Diseases (also known as ProMED-mail, abbreviated ProMED) is among the largest publicly available emerging diseases and outbreak reporting systems in the world.[1] The purpose of ProMED is to promote communication amongst the international infectious disease community, including scientists, physicians, veterinarians, epidemiologists, public health professionals, and others interested in infectious diseases on a global scale. Founded in 1994, ProMED has pioneered the concept of electronic, Internet-based emerging disease and outbreak detection reporting.[2] In 1999, ProMED became a program of the International Society for Infectious Diseases. As of 2016, ProMED has more than 75,000 subscribers in over 185 countries.[3] With an average of 13 posts per day, ProMED provides users with up-to-date information concerning infectious disease outbreaks on a global scale.[citation needed]

ProMED's guiding principles include:

  • Transparency and a commitment to the unfettered flow of outbreak information
  • Freedom from political constraints
  • Availability to all without cost
  • Commitment to One Health
  • Service to the global health community

One of the essential global health priorities is the timely recognition and reporting of emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases. Early recognition can enable coordinated and rapid responses to an outbreak, preventing catastrophic morbidity and mortality. Additionally, early detection can alleviate grave economic hardship brought upon by pandemics and emerging diseases. Burgeoning globalization of commerce, finance, manufacturing, and services has fostered ever-increasing movement of people, animals, plants, food, and animal feed. Other contributing factors to the risk of new pathogens emerging and known pathogens re-emerging include climate change, urbanization, land use changes, and political instability. Outbreaks that begin in the most remote parts of the world now spread swiftly to urban centres in countries far away. The epidemiological data in ProMED posts has been used to estimate mortality rates and demographic parameters for specific diseases.[4][5]

The severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak in 2003 and the Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) outbreak in 2012 demonstrated the importance of early identification for emerging disease occurrences. The initial outbreak reports in both events were posted by astute clinicians. The use of non-traditional information sources can provide prompt information to the international community on emerging infectious disease problems that have yet to be officially reported.[6] The early dissemination of information may lead to rapid official confirmation of ongoing outbreaks.

The Epicore programme, launched in March 2016 by various organizations including the patrons of ProMED-mail, makes use of volunteers throughout the world to find and report outbreaks using non-traditional methods.[7]

  1. ^ Brownstein, John S.; Freifeld, Clark C.; Madoff, Lawrence C. (21 May 2009). "Digital Disease Detection — Harnessing the Web for Public Health Surveillance". New England Journal of Medicine. 360 (21): 2153–2157. doi:10.1056/NEJMp0900702. PMC 2917042. PMID 19423867.
  2. ^ Times, Los Angeles (13 January 2007). "Website for the germ-obsessed". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 11 June 2016. Retrieved 20 May 2016.
  3. ^ "ProMED-mail". www.promedmail.org. Archived from the original on 1 June 2015. Retrieved 21 May 2016.
  4. ^ Nasner-Posso, KM; Cruz-Calderón, S; Montúfar-Andrade, FE; Dance, DA; Rodriguez-Morales, AJ (June 2015). "Human melioidosis reported by ProMED". International Journal of Infectious Diseases. 35: 103–6. doi:10.1016/j.ijid.2015.05.009. PMC 4508390. PMID 25975651.
  5. ^ Ince, Y; Yasa, C; Metin, M; Sonmez, M; Meram, E; Benkli, B; Ergonul, O (September 2014). "Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever infections reported by ProMED". International Journal of Infectious Diseases. 26: 44–6. doi:10.1016/j.ijid.2014.04.005. PMID 24947424.
  6. ^ Keller, M; Blench, M; Tolentino, H; Freifeld, CC; Mandl, KD; Mawudeku, A; Eysenbach, G; Brownstein, JS (May 2009). "Use of unstructured event-based reports for global infectious disease surveillance". Emerging Infectious Diseases. 15 (5): 689–95. doi:10.3201/eid1505.081114. PMC 2687026. PMID 19402953.
  7. ^ "ProMED Experts Share their Insights on Disease Surveillance and EpiCore | Skoll Global Threats Fund". www.skollglobalthreats.org. Archived from the original on 11 June 2016. Retrieved 21 May 2016.

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