Developing countries surveillance

Volume 3 Surveillance and control of community supplies contains recommendations and information concerning what needs to be done in small communities, particularly in developing countries, to safeguard their water supplies. 

Protection of patient safety remains a responsibility at service delivery. Post-marketing surveillance systems aim to monitor, collect, and evaluate ADEs to identify long-term or unknown safety issues. Most developing countries lack the resources to make pharmaco-vigilance a priority therefore, international data can help inform national DRA decisions (WHO 2001). 

Hannaford P. Postmarketing surveillance study of Norplant in developing countries. Lancet 2001 357(9271) 1815-6. 

There are other national surveillance programs on adverse events after immunization, for example in Denmark, Germany, Sweden, the UK, Hungary developing countries such as India (SEDA-17, 363) and Brazil (SEDA-16, 367) have also aheady started to collect data on severe adverse events. 

Finally it is worth acknowledging the increasing awareness, at both public and regulatory levels, of contaminated land issues in the UK and other developed countries. In 1995 the West Midlands Surveillance System for chemical incidents... 

In developing countries, acute pesticide poisoning is a major public health problem because it is so frequent. This chapter will focus on pesticide use in the Asian Pacific region, to illustrate both the causes and extent of pesticide misuse. The role of poisons information centres in poisoning surveillance, management and prevention activities will also be described. 

It is recognized that, in the great majority of rural water supplies in developing countries, fecal contamination is widespread. Under these conditions, the national surveillance agency should set medium-term targets for the progressive improvement of water supplies. 

Iodine deficiency disorders (IDD) are among the most important global public health problems with approximately one billion people at risk worldwide(l). Iodine deficiency is not restricted to developing countries and persists on the European Continent(l). The successful elimination of this nutritional deficiency, which may be associated with a wide range of neurologic, developmental, and intellectual impairments, requires an effective monitoring and surveillance program. 

Of the European studies reviewed, many measured heavy metals, cotinine, PCBs, pesticides, PAHs, dioxins, phthalates, and VOCs. Germany has taken a substantial lead in this respect through its comprehensive population-based surveys (German Environment Surveys) and concerted efforts to develop health-protective reference values for the general population. In addition European countries have been actively involved in occupational biomonitoring efforts. In fact, some countries have biomonitoring surveillance programs that have been required by law. 

The extent of the problem is greater than it is recorded in statistics. Not all cases of salmonellosis are reported and registered, even in countries with a developed network infrastructure of epidemiological surveillance. It is estimated that only 10-20% of Salmonellosis cases are reported. 

Strengthen national disease surveillance, Each country assesses its national resources in disease prevention, control and response systems surveillance and response and develops national action... 

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