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Infectious Disease Early Warning

An early detection system for infectious diseases, integrating data from outpatient clinics, hospitals, ambulance transport, pharmacies, schools, nursery schools, and elderly care facilities across Japan.

Explore the System
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Multi-Channel Data

Eight surveillance channels including outpatient, inpatient, ambulance, OTC pharmacy, nursery school, school absenteeism, elderly facilities, and laboratory testing.

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Early Detection

Syndromic surveillance identifies unusual patterns before laboratory confirmation, enabling faster public health responses to emerging outbreaks.

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Event Monitoring

Enhanced surveillance was conducted at major mass gatherings including the Hokkaido Toyako Summit 2008, APEC Yokohama 2010, and COP10 Nagoya 2010.

How Syndromic Surveillance Works

Syndromic surveillance monitors health-related data in near real-time to detect signals of infectious disease outbreaks before conventional diagnosis-based systems. By tracking symptoms and proxy indicators — such as school absenteeism, pharmacy dispensing, and ambulance transports — public health authorities can identify anomalies and respond earlier.

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Surveillance Channels

Syndromic surveillance in Japan draws on a broad range of data sources, each contributing a distinct signal for outbreak detection. These channels collectively provide a comprehensive picture of community health status, from clinical settings to everyday community indicators.

  • Outpatient (外来) — clinic visit symptom data
  • Inpatient (入院) — hospital admission surveillance
  • Ambulance Transport (救急車搬送) — emergency call patterns
  • OTC Pharmacy (OTC) — over-the-counter medication sales
  • Nursery School (保育園) — preschool absenteeism tracking
  • School Absenteeism (学校欠席) — nationwide school-based system
  • Elderly Facilities (高齢者施設) — care-home health monitoring
  • Laboratory Testing (検査) — test-ordering pattern analysis
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School Absenteeism System

As of January 2016, approximately 23,618 schools across 25 prefectures, 6 designated cities, and 2 special wards — covering about 53% of elementary, junior high, and high schools nationwide.

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Pharmacy Surveillance

Daily influenza estimates derived from anti-influenza drug dispensing data across 10,064 participating pharmacies, with prefecture-level and designated-city breakdowns from the 2009/2010 through 2014/2015 seasons.

Blog

  1. Syndromic surveillance for scabies in long-term careScabies outbreaks in long-term care facilities can spread quietly before a diagnosis is confirmed. The first signs may be a cluster of nighttime itching,…
  2. Linking Animal And Human Signals For Faster Zoonotic ResponseZoonotic diseases can move between wildlife, livestock, companion animals, and people before a public-health agency has a confirmed laboratory result. A rise…
  3. Reading Encephalitis And Meningitis Seasonality Through Syndromic DataSyndromic surveillance for encephalitis and meningitis seasonality helps public-health teams detect unusual patterns before laboratory confirmation is…
  4. Using Absenteeism Data From Workplace Health Services For Outbreak SignalsWorkplace absenteeism can provide an early indication that an infectious disease is circulating before clinicians receive enough laboratory results to confirm…
  5. Tracking waterborne illness after heavy rain with syndromic surveillanceHeavy rain can turn a localized environmental problem into a public-health emergency within hours. Floodwater may overwhelm sewage systems, wash animal waste…
  6. How syndromic surveillance supports hospital infection control decisionsHospitals often receive the first warning that an infectious disease situation is changing, but the warning may not come from a laboratory report. A rise in…
  7. Detecting measles resurgence with fever and rash signalsDetecting measles resurgence through fever and rash syndromic algorithms gives public-health teams an opportunity to act before laboratory confirmation is…
  8. Detecting Winter Carbon Monoxide Clusters Before ConfirmationCarbon monoxide (CO) poisoning is often described as a silent threat because the gas has no color or smell. In winter, however, its public-health footprint can…
  9. Syndromic data for smarter emergency department surge planningEmergency departments operate under constant pressure from fluctuating arrivals, limited beds, staffing constraints, and unpredictable clinical needs. During…
  10. Reading Injury Signals During Public CelebrationsPublic celebrations create temporary environments where ordinary injury patterns can change quickly. Fireworks, crowded streets, outdoor concerts, sporting…

Technical Support

For inquiries about the syndromic surveillance systems, including the school absenteeism information collection system and pharmacy surveillance:

Contact: Yasushi Ohkusa, Senior Researcher

Institution: Infectious Disease Epidemiology Center, National Institute of Infectious Diseases

FAX: 03-5285-1129

Email: ohkusa@nih.go.jp

All inquiries accepted by FAX or email only. For school absenteeism system login issues, please contact your municipal board of education or childcare division.