2008 G8 Hokkaido Toyako Summit Meeting Syndrome Surveillance

Abstract

We conducted syndromic surveillance for the Hokkaido, Japan, Toyako Group of Eight (G8) summit meeting in July 2008 as a counter-measure to bioterrorism attacks and other health emergencies. Surveys were conducted from June 23, two weeks before the summit, to July 23 two weeks after it, with part of those for prescription drugs fully automated, and part by manual input over the World-Wide-Web. Those for ambulance transfer were done similarly. We bought over-the-counter (OTC) sales data from two private research firms in Japan and had the monitor, who had contacts with a private research company, report health conditions via personal computer (PC) or cellphone. We had a virtual conference daily at 9:00 with the local Hokkaido government, local public health center, local Hokkaido public laboratory, the National Institute of Infectious Diseases, and the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare to decide whether local public health centers would be required to investigate. Fully automated syndromic surveillance was conducted by 23 pharmacies for prescriptions drugs, and 71 pharmacies provided manual corporate input. One fire department covering Toyako and a VIP support team used fully automated syndromic surveillance and seven Toyako fire departments used manual input. For 79 pharmacies providing OTC sales data, data provision was delayed one day and analysis could not be automated. Four hundred and seventy two households corporate web search for their health conditions. It also automatically analyzed and feed backed. No notable outbreak occurred during the summit, but public health centers investigated seven aberration detected by syndrome surveillance for ambulance transfer. Although a fully automated system was concidered best for early outbreak detection manual input and analysis were also required. Routine, fully automatied syndromic surveillance remains to be realized in Japan.