ProMED-mail
Encyclopedia
The Program for Monitoring Emerging Diseases (also known as ProMED-mail) is among the largest of publicly available emerging disease
and outbreak reporting systems in the world.
As the SARS epidemic dramatically demonstrated, the emergence and spread of infectious diseases in this era of intense globalization
must be recognized quickly anywhere in the world in order to respond appropriately. Originally founded in 1994, and a program of the International Society for Infectious Diseases since 1999, ProMED-mail has more than 50,000 participants in over 185 countries and has pioneered the concept of electronic, Internet-based, emerging disease and outbreak detection and reporting.
an average of seven daily reports of infectious disease outbreaks with commentary from a staff of expert moderators, on a real-time basis. It is estimated that 70% of emerging human diseases originate in other animal species. Because of the importance of animal diseases to human health ProMED-mail, ProMED-mail also reports on emerging animal diseases. Diseases of agriculturally important plants are also included because of their impact on human survival.
ProMED-mail's independence ensures the avoidance of delay or suppression of disease reporting by governments for bureaucratic or strategic reasons. Versions of ProMED-mail are available in several languages as ProMED-ESP (Spanish), ProMED-PORT (Portuguese), ProMED-RUS (Russian), and ProMED-FR (French), as well as an English version focused on the Mekong Basin region of Southeast Asia. ProMED-mail can be accessed on the web at http://www.promedmail.org with no cost for subscription. Networks such as ProMED-mail are a crucial component of the overall global infectious disease surveillance picture.
were awarded a grant from Google.org's Predict and Prevent initiative in October 2008. This collaboration will combine ProMED-mail’s global network of human, animal, and ecosystem health specialists with HealthMap’s digital detection efforts.
Disease
A disease is an abnormal condition affecting the body of an organism. It is often construed to be a medical condition associated with specific symptoms and signs. It may be caused by external factors, such as infectious disease, or it may be caused by internal dysfunctions, such as autoimmune...
and outbreak reporting systems in the world.
As the SARS epidemic dramatically demonstrated, the emergence and spread of infectious diseases in this era of intense globalization
Globalization
Globalization refers to the increasingly global relationships of culture, people and economic activity. Most often, it refers to economics: the global distribution of the production of goods and services, through reduction of barriers to international trade such as tariffs, export fees, and import...
must be recognized quickly anywhere in the world in order to respond appropriately. Originally founded in 1994, and a program of the International Society for Infectious Diseases since 1999, ProMED-mail has more than 50,000 participants in over 185 countries and has pioneered the concept of electronic, Internet-based, emerging disease and outbreak detection and reporting.
Reporting diseases
ProMED-mail publishes and transmits via the InternetInternet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
an average of seven daily reports of infectious disease outbreaks with commentary from a staff of expert moderators, on a real-time basis. It is estimated that 70% of emerging human diseases originate in other animal species. Because of the importance of animal diseases to human health ProMED-mail, ProMED-mail also reports on emerging animal diseases. Diseases of agriculturally important plants are also included because of their impact on human survival.
ProMED-mail's independence ensures the avoidance of delay or suppression of disease reporting by governments for bureaucratic or strategic reasons. Versions of ProMED-mail are available in several languages as ProMED-ESP (Spanish), ProMED-PORT (Portuguese), ProMED-RUS (Russian), and ProMED-FR (French), as well as an English version focused on the Mekong Basin region of Southeast Asia. ProMED-mail can be accessed on the web at http://www.promedmail.org with no cost for subscription. Networks such as ProMED-mail are a crucial component of the overall global infectious disease surveillance picture.
Collaborations
ProMED-mail along with HealthmapHealthmap
HealthMap is a freely accessible, automated electronic information system for monitoring, organizing, and visualizing reports of global disease outbreaks according to geography, time, and infectious disease agent...
were awarded a grant from Google.org's Predict and Prevent initiative in October 2008. This collaboration will combine ProMED-mail’s global network of human, animal, and ecosystem health specialists with HealthMap’s digital detection efforts.