Epidemiological surveillance system for the acute febrile syndrome in Villeta, Colombia

Abstract

Objective To generate a preliminary proposal of an integral surveillance system for the acute febrile syndrome in Villeta municipality, Cundinamarca department, with the goal to establish a collection processes and data capture in the presentation of human and animal cases. Materials and Methods A database was generated from a cross-sectional retrospec-tive study of 40 sheets of mandatory reporting for suspected dengue patients collected during October 2011 and March 2013 from Hospital Salazar of Villeta. These data were analyzed by the Epiinfo 7 program. Also, because of the evidence of leptospirosis and rickettsial circulation in this municipality and whereas these etiologies are zoonotic, an adaptation was made regarding the event in dogs. These results allowed to design the proposed system, including operational surveillance case definitions for febrile etiolo-gies, action algorithms and reporting tools. Results Sixty percent of people who consulted for febrile syndrome belonged to the county seat. 30% of patients were under 10 years. Fever (98%), myalgia (85%), heada-che (75%) and arthralgia (65%) were the symptoms reported with more frequency. The largest number of cases occu-rred in September, 2012. The proposed system of syndromic surveillance will strengthen surveillance considering four components: human, animal, community and environmental by facilitating the opportune identification and treatment of cases of acute febrile illnesses. Conclusion The syndromic surveillance system allows to relate comprehensively febrile illnesses with common signs, making the reporting process more efficient.