Enhanced Passive Surveillance – Coming to a Tablet Near You

December 31, 2014 — 

The Department of Homeland Security’s Science & Technology Directorate-funded Enhanced Passive Surveillance (EPS) pilot program continues to make progress towards the goal of developing and testing a system designed to provide early indicators of disease and enhance situational awareness of animal health in the U.S. The program has seen significant progress, which was the culmination of many months of hard work. [Source: Institute for Infectious Animal Diseases]

Key program accomplishments to-date include:

• First, we completed development and technical refinement of the mobile Swine app version 1.0 for iOS (iPhones/iPads), Android (phone/tablet), and web-based platforms and the supporting online training video modules. This milestone was achieved because of a team effort between IIAD and our Industry, State and Federal partners. We aim to deploy the app to the swine veterinary practitioner participants after the Privacy Policy/Participant Agreement is finalized). Veterinary participants will be able to download the app for free from the Apple App and Google Play stores.
• Completing the development of the swine app also serves to highlight the important role that the working groups play towards a successful program. Both the Swine industry and the Data Standardization and Ontology working groups played a critical role in providing input in app development.
  • The Swine industry working group includes representatives from the National Pork Board, American Association of Swine Veterinarians, Iowa State University, diagnostic laboratories (IA, MN, SD), state animal health officials (CO, IA, IN), USDA APHIS, and DHS S&T. The working group members provided valuable input on various aspects of the app, including data requirements and app capabilities.
  • The Data Standardization and Ontology working group includes representatives from both USDA and DHS. The working group completed a review of the data dictionary table, which included the Federal Essential Data Fields. Input will be utilized to standardize data fields within the apps across all industries.
• Near term priorities include:
  • Distribution of iPads to support Swine app data collection
  • Training of the swine veterinary participants
  • Deployment of the Mixed Animal app in January 2015, pending finalization of the participation agreement
  • Identifying strategies and requirements for the year two targeted groups: Wildlife and Feedlot Industry
  • Prioritization of the EPS Analyst Workstation enhancements