Infectious disease surveillance in North Rhine-Westphalia: First steps in the development of an early warning system

It is often difficult to detect warning signals on infectious disease outbr eaks from raw surveillance data. Data need to be used for a timely generati on and distribution of information on the current stare of infectious disea ses. This offers the opportunity to detect outbreaks and to initiate preven tive measures. To improve the surveillance system in North Rhine-Westphalia we have introduced an infectious disease barometer, a simple tool based on weekly notification data. The aim of this tool is not to provide in depth data analysis, but to help to detect clusters or outbreaks. This can be the first step in the development of an early warning system and can support e pidemiological investigation and policy making.