Tracks Infectious Diseases

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) - Programs that track health-related 911 calls and purchases of over-the-counter medication help health authorities in the state's largest city get a jump on tracking outbreaks of infectious disease.

Officials say the 911 program, called FirstWatch, can do something else as well - even though they hope it will never have to.

FirstWatch, which began tracking calls on Wednesday, is a "smoke detector for bioterrorism," said FirstWatch project director Matthew Ferguson.

In the past, health officials have had to rely on reports from doctors and hospitals to track outbreaks.

FirstWatch, however, is able to compare the number of emergency calls with seasonal averages and will automatically notify officials if there is a spike in medical problems.

The county paid about $24,000 for FirstWatch, public health emergency management coordinator Gloria Vermie said.

Another program, put in place six months ago, allows the county to track the sale of over-the-counter medicines through a federal computer database. The database records the number of items sold but not the names of buyers, Vermie said.

A spike in over-the-counter sales could be a first warning of an infectious disease outbreak or of bioterrorism, Vermie said.

Officials have also enlisted nurses at seven Wichita elementary schools to track the community's health. The nurses are contacted several times a week to learn what types of symptoms kids are experiencing and how many stayed home sick.

Children are more susceptible to diseases and chemicals and are more likely than adults to admit when they don't feel well, Vermie said.

The county hopes to expand FirstWatch to collect information on paramedics' and emergency rooms' diagnoses of medical emergencies, and to share information with other large cities in the region

Good find! Homeland Security is funding like projects in IL. DuPage County tracks the influenza virus and the program would be used for bioterror cases.

2 posted on 04/12/2004 2:16:28 AM PDT by endthematrix (To enter my lane you must use your turn signal!)

3 posted on 04/12/2004 4:11:57 AM PDT by aardvark1 (You can't have everything...where would you put it? --Steven Wright)

yup.

But the increase in "cold medicine" use might also mean a nearby meth lab...

4 posted on 04/12/2004 4:13:40 AM PDT by LadyDoc (liberals only love politically correct poor people)

Some ten years ago the Milwaukee area suffered from naturally-occurring parasite contamination of their water supply. Eventually caused some 200,000 people to get sick. Had a system like this been in place, the rapid spike in anti-diarrheal medicine sales would have been an early tip-off, triggering a public health investigation.

5 posted on 04/12/2004 6:12:56 AM PDT by AngrySpud (Behold, I am The Anti-Crust ... Anti-Hillary)

But the increase in "cold medicine" use might also mean a nearby meth lab...

I suspect this is exactly why this is being done.

As you well know, local physicians already report cases of infectious diseases to folks who track it.

Not that I mind them using this to bust meth labs!

Deadly stuff.

6 posted on 04/12/2004 7:14:05 AM PDT by EEDUDE (Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.)

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