Louisiana Department of Health & Hospitals | Bruce Greenstein, Secretary

Louisiana Early Event Detection System (LEEDS)

SYNDROMIC SURVEILLANCE

The goal of Syndromic Surveillance is to rapidly detect early warning signs of both natural and man-made disease trends or outbreaks that might impact the health of the public. 

Syndromic Surveillance detects increases in the occurrence of specific symptoms as indicators that a public health problem might exist.  

Syndromic Surveillance uses pre-diagnostic data to enable earlier detection of disease trends and outbreaks, and more rapid interventions to interrupt the spread of illness in the community.  

*** Louisiana accepts syndromic surveillance Data from Emergency Departments only. ***

 

WHAT IS LEEDS?

 Louisiana Early Event Detection System (LEEDS) is a web-based reporting system that automatically processes hospital Emergency Department data to identify visits indicative of specific syndromes tracked by the Louisiana Office of Public Health (OPH).

LEEDS tracks numerous syndromes and is used by Infectious Disease Epidemiology for important public health serveillance activities including:

• Foodborne, waterborne, and other gastrointestinal illness outbreak detection and surveillance
• Influenza-like illness surveillance
• Asthma surveillance
• Upper and lower respiratory tract infection surveillance
• Health effects due to air pollution - marsh fires, chemical disasters, etc.
• Generic outbreak detection
    - Skin and soft tissue infections (SSTI)
    - Rashes - detection of vaccine-preventable diseases
• Bioterrorism agents surveillance
    - Botulism
    - Ricin
    - Viral hemorrhagic fevers
    - Pneumonias- Anthrax, Plague, etc.
• Zoonotic disease surveillance
• Drug and alcohol abuse surveillance
• Special pathogens surveillance
• Special event surveillance

 

LEEDS REPORTS

LEEDS users can easily view reports online at any time. These reports can be viewed at the hospital, regional or state level. The six syndromes presented in these reports are:

• Asthma
• Gastroenteritis
• Influenza-like illness
• Skin and soft tissue infections
• Upper respiratory tract infections
• Lower respiratory tract infections

Reports include tables and graphs that present weekly summaries of:

• counts of Emergency Department visits reported.
• counts of each type of syndrome, and
• percentages of Emergency Department visits attributable to each syndrome. 

See sample report below:

PH-1 Emergency Department Surveillance for Specified Syndromes
Statewide: Emergency Department Surveillance for Specified Syndromes 

(Compiled by the LAOPH Infectious Disease Epidemiology Section)

 

  

PH-1 Emergency Department Surveillance for Specified Syndromes 
Statewide: Hospital Emergency Department (ED) Syndromic Surveillance
Percent of Total ED Visits Indicative of ILI

 (Compiled by the LAOPH Infectious Disease Epidemiology Section)

 

 

  

   

 BENEFITS OF PARTICIPATION

• Syndromic Surveillance enables earlier detection and awareness of outbreaks or disease trends of public health significance.
• LEEDS enables ongoing monitoring of syndromes of public health importance.
• LEEDS detects seasonal disease trends, such as influenza during winter months.
• LEEDS provides situational awareness during any identified cluster of cases or outbreak, during natural or man-made emergencies, or during high-profile events.
• Submission of electronic syndromic surveillance data to public health agencies is a meaningful use objective and helps hospitals earn incentive payments.
• LEEDS has the potential to also track events such as hospital acquired infections, injuries and infections during hurricanes, environmental exposures, poisonings, bioterrorism events, toxic product exposures, and drug abuse trends.

 

HOW DO I PARTICIPATE?

LEEDS is currently accepting data only from hospital Emergency Departments. Participating facilities submit daily emergency department data files to LEEDS using secure file transfer protocol (sFTP).  The required data format follows PHIN messaging standards. Users are issued password-protected web-based accounts to access reports online at their convenience.

For further information on how to participate, please view  LEEDS Emergency Department Syndromic Surveillance in Louisiana, or contact:

Syndromic Surveillance Coordinator: Jenna Iberg Johnson, MSPH
Address: 1450 Poydras Street New Orleans, LA 70112	Telephone: (504) 568-8312  Fax: (504) 568-8290   Email: jenna.iberg@la.gov