November 1, 2004

HEALTH TRACKING SYSTEMS THAT DETECT BIOTERRORISM AND INFECTIOUS DISEASE OUTBREAKS: DO THEY WORK?
2004 National Syndromic Surveillance Conference
November 3-4, 2004

Boston, MA - Concerns about bioterrorism and new and emerging infectious diseases like SARS and pandemic influenza have accelerated the development of health tracking systems that can quickly detect outbreaks. A two-day conference this week will bring together officials from health departments, hospitals, academic institutions and government agencies to discuss the benefits and challenges of these electronic state-of-the-art "syndromic surveillance" systems, which are increasingly being used in public health monitoring and outbreak detection.

2004 National Syndromic Surveillance Conference
November 3-4, 2004
Boston Marriott Copley
110 Huntington Avenue
Boston, MA 02116

Presentations will include the ability of syndromic systems to warn of flu outbreaks before traditional influenza surveillance methods, an overview of the Center for Disease Control's Biosense program, and panel discussions on the relative roles of federal, state, and local health departments, and privacy and legal issues. For more information about Syndromic Surveillance and for a complete conference agenda see www.syndromic.org.
More than 400 people from 43 states and 12 countries have registered to attend. The event is co-sponsored by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Tufts Health Care Institute. The conference is made possible with support from the Department of Homeland Security and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

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Contact:
Rosemarie Curran
Tufts Health Care Institute
617-636-0948
rosemarie_curran@tuftshealth.com