ERHC

Goal:  Enhance, develop, and ensure the use of statewide, integrated surveillance systems and epidemiologic capacity for the rapid detection and control of unusual outbreaks of illness that may be the result of bioterrorism, other outbreaks of infectious disease, and other public health threats and emergencies within the LINCS region.

What is Epidemiology?  

A less entertaining, but more conventional, definition of epidemiology is "the study of the distribution and determinants of health-related states in specified populations, and the application of this study to control health problems." A look at the key words will help illuminate the meaning:

• Study—Epidemiology is the basic science of public health. It's a highly quantitative discipline based on principles of statistics and research methodologies.

• Distribution—Epidemiologists study the distribution of frequencies and patterns of health events within groups in a population. To do this, they use descriptive epidemiology, which characterizes health events in terms of time, place, and person.

• Determinants—Epidemiologists also attempt to search for causes or factors that are associated with increased risk or probability of disease. This type of epidemiology, where we move from questions of "who," "what," "where," and "when" and start trying to answer "how" and "why," is referred to as analytical epidemiology.

• Health-related states—Although infectious diseases were clearly the focus of much of the early epidemiological work, this is no longer true. Epidemiology as it is practiced today is applied to the whole spectrum of health-related events, which includes chronic disease, environmental problems, behavioral problems, and injuries in addition to infectious disease.

• Populations—One of the most important distinguishing characteristics of epidemiology is that it deals with groups of people rather than with individual patients.

• Control—Finally, although epidemiology can be used simply as an analytical tool for studying diseases and their determinants, it serves a more active role. Epidemiological data steers public health decision making and aids in developing and evaluating interventions to control and prevent health problems. This is the primary function of applied, or field, epidemiology.

Surveillance:

1. Influenza Surveillance:  The ERHC Epidemiologist receives weekly Influenza reports from schools, nursing homes, and emergency rooms. These data are incorporated into the state’s summary of weekly Influenza reports. http://www.state.nj.us/health/fluinfo/index.html

2. Active Surveillance:  The surveillance data is provided by the Essex County Hospitals.  It includes the total number of patients seen in the ER and the total number of patients admitted for each day.

3. ILI Surveillance:  http://www.cdc.gov/flu/weekly/

4. Communicable Disease Surveillance:

   New Jersey Administrative Code 8:57 for the Communicable Diseases

   http://www.state.nj.us/health/cd/njac857.pdf

   Communicable Disease Fact Sheets

   http://www.state.nj.us/health/cd/index.html

   CDS-1 Form for Reporting Reportable Communicable Diseases

   http://www.state.nj.us/health/forms/cds-1.dot (Word)

   http://www.state.nj.us/health/forms/cds-1.pdf (PDF)

    

   Case Definitions of the Communicable Diseases

    http://www.state.nj.us/health/cd/cd_def.htm

   Communicable Disease Service and Manual (includes forms and protocols) http://www.state.nj.us/health/cd/manual/introduction.shtml

               5.   WNV Surveillance: 

    

   Fact Sheet

   http://www.state.nj.us/health/cd/westnile/factsheet.htm

   West Nile Virus in NJ

   http://www.state.nj.us/health/cd/westnile/brochure.pdf

   http://www.state.nj.us/health/cd/westnile/sowestnile.pdf (in Spanish)

    

   Guidelines & Forms for Bird Testing

    

          Avian Surveillance and Testing Protocol: http://www.state.nj.us/health/cd/westnile/avianprotocol.htm

          Dead- Ill Bird Report/Laboratory Submission Form: http://www.state.nj.us/health/forms/cds-4.dot (Word)

           http://www.state.nj.us/health/forms/cds-4.pdf (PDF)

    

   Guidelines & Forms for Human Testing

    

          Form A - Approval Protocol for West Nile Virus Human Specimen Testing

           http://www.state.nj.us/health/cd/westnile/approvalprotocol.doc (Word)

           http://www.state.nj.us/health/cd/westnile/approvalprotocol.pdf (PDF)

    

          Form B - Diagnostic Criteria for Testing of Suspect Human Cases of West Nile Virus Infection in New Jersey

           http://www.state.nj.us/health/cd/westnile/humanguidelines.doc (Word)

           http://www.state.nj.us/health/cd/westnile/humanguidelines.pdf  (PDF)

    

          Form C - Submission Protocol for Testing of Human Sera and Cerebrospinal Fluid Specimens

           http://www.state.nj.us/health/cd/westnile/humanprotocol.doc (Word)

           http://www.state.nj.us/health/cd/westnile/humanprotocol.pdf (PDF)

    

          Patient Intake Form

           http://www.state.nj.us/health/forms/cds-2.dot (Word)

           http://www.state.nj.us/health/forms/cds-2.pdf (PDF)

    

          Request for Viral Serology

           http://www.state.nj.us/health/forms/vir-1.dot (Word)

           http://www.state.nj.us/health/forms/vir-1.pdf (PDF)

    

   Test Results:

   Current Notifications by the NJDHSS: Memo to Health Officers: Statewide Policy – West Nile Virus Testing of Crows http://www.state.nj.us/health/cd/westnile/testingcrowspolicy.pdf