Global mobility has increased and the world has become more connected.
Real-time and more accurate data about respiratory diseases are critical for public health response especially during an outbreak.
Pneumoniais a lower respiratory tract infection.
Its because of very small organisms that cause the air sacs in the lungs to fill up with fluid.
This makes breathing difficult and may lead to death.
Information collected in clinics and hospitals doesnt provide the full picture of an illness.
This information depends on people actually going to health facilities, which doesnt always happen.
Some people may not be severely ill, or may not be able to get to the health facility.
And there may not be adequate laboratory capacity to run tests.
There can be a delay and under-reporting, which makes the public health response less effective.
The sooner a cluster of cases is detected, the better it can be managed.
They fall under the description ofdigital participatory surveillance.
They can also record questions about health-seeking behavior.
In particular, this pilot phase will be used to survey respiratory diseases such as influenza and potentially COVID-19.
Influenza is a vaccine-preventable disease and one of the causes of pneumonia.
It causes an estimated11,000 deathsevery year in South Africa.
The success of a digital participatory surveillance program depends on the consistent participation of the population.
South Africa already has another technological tool designed to combat the pandemic: the COVID-19 Alert app.
Users report on a weekly basis whether they have experienced symptoms related to respiratory illness or not.
This allows for real-time estimation of cases without relying on access to medical care or testing capacity.
This data can also be used toforecasthow outbreaks might spread in a community.
But its been used in other parts of the world.
TheUSA,Australia, and Mexico have their own digital participatory surveillance programs.
Today, 11 European countries have established a continent-based digital participatory surveillance web connection calledInfluenzaNet.
This allows for a comparison of trends within and between countries in Europe.
The National Institute for Communicable Diseases is employing similar strategies through public relations and media in South Africa.
South Africas digital participatory surveillance will face some important challenges, though.
Firstly, information, and communications technology arelimited.
Some parts of the country may not have internet connectivity.
There may be some concerns and skepticism aroundsocial mediaand mobile apps with regard to data confidentiality and privacy.
These are longstanding challenges that both government and various industries need to address.
