Disease surveillance and data collection issues in epidemic modelling

This paper. is founded on a tutorial session given to the School on Modern Statistical Methods in Medical Research which was held at the International Centre for Theoretical Physics, Trieste in September 1999. We review the a ims, scope and purposes of infectious disease surveillance including determ ining transmission information to underpin model structure and parameteriza tion in epidemic modelling. The practical problems inherent in collecting s urveillance data are illustrated by a study of HIV/AIDS in Cambodia. We als o review the basic elements of mathematical models developed to represent t he transmission dynamics of infectious diseases, and discuss reasons for th e gap between mathematical epidemic models and available data.