Role of Disease Surveillance in Kenya

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Role of Disease Surveillance in Kenya
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Background of EPI Disease Surveillance

• As part of efforts to monitor control,
  elimination and ultimately eradication of Vaccine
  Preventable Disease, (VPDs), surveillance unit
  became an essential component of KEPI.
• This started as sentinel surveillance but
  eventually became full-fledged unit with focal
  persons at all levels of the health sector both
  public and private.

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Background of EPI Disease Surveillance

• The disease surveillance unit in KEPI was
  established in 1995.
• The unit initially was purposely established to
  implement the Global Polio Eradication Initiative
  through AFP surveillance.
• Building on the AFP surveillance already in
  place measles, NNT were brought on board, but
  emphasis being, without compromising the quality
  of AFP surveillance.
• The same structures were used to assist role out
  Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response in
  Kenya.

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National Disease Surveillance Coordinator and
focal persons for EPI target diseases
Surveillance structure
National
Provincial Disease Surveillance Coordinator
Provincial
District Disease Surveillance Coordinator
District
Hospital Surveillance Coordinator
Health Facility
Community focal persons (proposed)
Community
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Effective disease surveillance is a key
strategy in public health interventions.

• Surveillance data is used
• For public health decision making and action
• To improve timeliness of information exchange and
  dissemination
• To standardize the data collected
• To ensure adequate surveillance infrastructure
• To improve local data analysis
• To enhance teamwork amongst surveillance partners
• For optimal use of resources
• To formulate policy
• The experience gained in surveillance will
  position EPI to
• address the challenges of disease prevention in
  future.

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• There are also conditions under surveillance to
  monitor the efficacy/effectiveness of newly
  introduced vaccines in the EPI programme
• e.g. hepatitis B and Haemophilus influenzae b,
  the aim being to determine whether there is
  justification of having the vaccines in the
  national immunization schedule for the EPI
  programme.
• This is done in sentinel sites selected based on
  agreed criteria.
• An example is the on going sentinel surveillance
  for rota virus in Kenyatta National Hospital with
  a view to introducing rota virus vaccine in the
  national EPI programme and Pneumococcal
  surveillance in selected sentinel sites under
  netSPEAR

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VPDs

• Disease surveillance for the EPI target diseases
  is made possible by some important factors i.e
• Availability of an effective tool (vaccine)
• Mostly one host (Human)
• Effective broad definition
• To satisfy local and global disease control
  standards

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Role of Disease Surveillance

• The overriding value of disease surveillance is
  its use as a tool to identify the presence of
  infectious diseases and guide actions to prevent
  them from becoming threats to public health.
• Note Definitions used in surveillance are
  symptomatic to ensure sensitivity of the
  surveillance system in picking suspected cases
  rather than specificity, to maximize case
  detection.
• Disease surveillance should provide information
  on
• Disease incidence, morbidity, and mortality, and
  progress in achieving disease control goals
• Changes in patterns of morbidity and mortality
  among different age groups in different
  geographical areas and among different economic,
  social, or cultural groups
• Impact of immunization strategies on disease
  incidence
• Disease trends and its determinants in order to
  improve health

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Let us protect them You have a ROLE!!!!!!!!
Thank you