1.Enhanced event-based surveillance for imported diseases during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games
Ayu Kasamatsu ; Masayuki Ota ; Tomoe Shimada ; Munehisa Fukusumi ; Takuya Yamagishi ; Anita Samuel ; Manami Nakashita ; Tomohiko Ukai ; Katsuki Kurosawa ; Miho Urakawa ; Kensuke Takahashi ; Keiko Tsukada ; Akane Futami ; Hideya Inoue ; Shun Omori ; Miho Kobayashi ; Takahisa Shimada ; Sakiko Tabata ; Yuichiro Yahata ; Hajime Kamiya ; Fumi Yoshimatsu ; Tomimasa Sunagawa ; Tomoya Saito
Western Pacific Surveillance and Response 2021;12(4):13-19
In 2021, the National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Japan, undertook enhanced event-based surveillance (EBS) for infectious diseases occurring overseas that have potential for importation (excluding coronavirus disease 2019 [COVID-19]) for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Summer Games (the Games). The pre-existing EBS system was enhanced using the World Health Organization Epidemic Intelligence from Open Sources system and the BlueDot Epidemic Intelligence platform. The enhanced EBS before and during the Games did not detect any major public health event that would warrant action for the Games. However, information from multiple sources helped us identify events, characterize risk and improve confidence in risk assessment. The collaboration also reduced the surveillance workload of the host country, while ensuring the quality of surveillance, even during the COVID-19 pandemic.