Eswatini steps up disease surveillance amid Ebola risk
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Times of Eswatini
Illustrative image · Laura James · Pexels · Licence PexelsEswatini is strengthening disease detection and reporting to identify outbreaks quickly, including a possible Ebola outbreak. The integrated surveillance strategy includes case identification, data analysis and investigations, Nkosinathi Dlamini of the Epidemiology and Disease Control Unit said at a Health Ministry workshop in Manzini.
Eswatini is strengthening its health surveillance and response systems to detect outbreaks quickly, particularly in light of the risk of Ebola, said Nkosinathi Dlamini of the Epidemiology and Disease Control Unit at a workshop organised in Manzini by the Ministry of Health and the National Disaster Risk Management Authority. The Times of Eswatini reports that the country is using the Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response (IDSR) strategy.
The strategy provides for identifying and reporting cases, analysing data and investigating health threats. Dlamini described two complementary methods: indicator-based surveillance, which collects structured data at health facilities, in communities and at points of entry, and event-based surveillance, which relies on reports of unusual events.
The aim, according to Dlamini, is to enable authorities to act before a threat escalates, at community, health facility and national levels. Eswatini had rated its preparedness for a possible Ebola outbreak at 52%, according to a report published on 21 October.
