ABSTRACT

The surveillance of infectious diseases has gained significant attention over the last decade. Many industrialized countries have had in place systems for the surveillance of transmissible diseases for over 100 years. This surveillance was often very minimal. A few countries have invested in surveillance, recognizing that forecasting or rapidly identifying a developing threat would be advantageous. Authorities have been alerted by large outbreaks of waterborne disease, by transborder outbreaks due to the globalization of food markets, and finally by the rapid dissemination of disease by worldwide travel. The first section of this book focuses on the various aspects of the surveillance of waterborne disease.