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Table 1 Newly coined terms in web-based surveillance systems and their descriptions

From: Web-based infectious disease surveillance systems and public health perspectives: a systematic review

Term

Description

Syndromic surveillance

The systematic process of data collection and analysis to detect and characterize disease outbreaks in humans and animals in a timely manner [10, 11].

Biosurveillance

The process of gathering, integrating, interpreting, and communicating essential information that might be related to activity and threats to human, animal, or plant health [12]. Biosurveillance activities range from standard epidemiological practices to advanced technological systems, utilizing complex algorithms [13]. The focus is on the use of early disease indicators to identify outbreaks before definitive diagnoses are made [14].

Infodemiology

Information epidemiology; the science of the distribution and determinants of information in an electronic medium, specifically the Internet, or in a population, with the ultimate aim to inform public health and public policy [15, 16].

Infoveillance

Information surveillance; longitudinal tracking of infodemiology metrics for surveillance and trend analyses [16–18].

Digital surveillance

Attempts to provide knowledge of public health issues by analyzing health information stored digitally, as well as the distribution and patterns governing access to these data [18].

Real-time surveillance

Encompasses alerting public healthcare practitioners during the early phases of an outbreak, enabling them to promptly institute control measures and case finding and to ensure adequate access to treatment, thereby reducing morbidity and mortality [19].