Use of Syndromic Data for Enhanced Surveillance: MERS Like-Syndrome

The goal is to identify and monitor MERS like syndrome cases in the syndromic surveillance system. In consultation with the state and local jurisdictions, five case definitions were developed to monitor MERS like syndromes. From May through July, 2014 fifteen reporting jurisdictions participated in MERS enhanced surveillance. . During this enhanced surveillance time period 171 probable MERS cases were identified and all of them were ruled out. The MERS collaborative efforts between BioSense programs, CDC subject matter experts and jurisdictions will help develop more comprehensive definitions to conduct enhanced surveillance at the national level using multiple syndromic surveillance systems.