Rumors of disease in the global village: Outbreak verification

Emerging infectious diseases and the growth of information technology have produced new demands and possibilities for disease surveillance and respons e. Increasing numbers of outbreak reports must be assessed rapidly so that control efforts can be initiated and unsubstantiated reports can be identif ied to protect countries from unnecessary economic damage. The World Health Organization has set up a process for timely outbreak verification to conv ert large amounts of data into accurate information for suitable action. We describe the context and processes of outbreak verification and informatio n dissemination.