SPC launches Disease Surveillance Map [1]
Monday, August 25, 2014 - 15:20. Updated on Monday, August 25, 2014 - 16:08.
Tonga currently has an increasing number of cases of Dengue serotype 3, while Samoa and American Samoa have increasing numbers of Chikungunya, and there are current Measles alerts in the Western Pacific in Papua New Guinea, Federated States of MIcronesia and the Solomon Islands.
The alerts can be seen on a new web-based map of the ‘Epidemic and emerging disease alerts in the Pacific region' launched recently by the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC). The interactive map shows any alerts for epidemics/diseases in the Pacific region and can be searched by disease type, status, and disease transmission methods.
The map at http://www.spc.int/phd/epidemics/ [2] locates outbreaks or diseases which are currently occurring or emerging in the Pacific. According to the SPC “The web interface allows users to visualise the epidemics and alerts in different ways, i.e. by country, disease, type of transmission and over recent time.”
The map uses colours to indicate the number of alerts and the status of the reported cases of diseases. The colour green indicates there has been one alert. Light-grey indicates two alerts and yellow indicates three or more. The colour red indicates that cases are increasing while blue indicates cases are decreasing.
Deputy Director of SPC’s Public Health Division Dr Yvan Souarès stated “Since last year the Pacific has suffered from an unprecedented epidemic wave of diseases transmitted by mosquitoes – including Dengue, Zika and Chikungunya – and it continues...several epidemics of measles are also currently occurring in the region.”
According to the map today 25 August 2014, cases of Dengue fever are increasing whilst cases of Chikungunya are decreasing in the region.