Media Advisory                   January 23, 2006

Emergency Room Surveillance Identifies Disease Outbreaks

Media are invited to a briefing on the monitoring system being tested locally that offers doctors and Public Health officials an early warning of potential disease outbreaks. Called ECADS, the Early CBRN (Chemical/Biological/Radiological/Nuclear) Attack Detection Surveillance system monitors the chief complaints of patients presenting at hospital emergency departments. The software compiles a database that will identify a local outbreak.  This system is currently under trial in the 12 hospitals across Grey and Bruce in a multi-disciplinary partnership that includes the University of Ottawa Heart Institute and the National Research Council. If ECADS were in place in 2000, the system would have provided an early alert of the Walkerton e-coli outbreak.

Project lead Dr. Richard Davies, MD, PhD, FRCPC will provide a briefing and over-view of ECADS to local media and front-line emergency response personnel

10:00 a.m. Friday, February 3, 2006, Classroom 1 (Lower Level),

Grey Bruce Health Services, 1800 8^th Street East, Owen Sound. 

Attached: ECADS poster

For more information:

Dr. Hazel Lynn

Medical Officer of Health

Grey Bruce Health Unit

(519) 376-9420, ext. 269