The ESSENCE II disease surveillance test bed for the national capital area

Disease surveillance began in Europe in the 14th century to try to contain the spread of disease within communities. Since then, surveillance techniques have matured as new technologies and methods have evolved. Today, the threat of bioterrorism has placed ever-increasing demands on the need for early recognition of an outbreak. The Electronic Surveillance System for the Early Notification of Community-based Epidemics, version two (ESSENCE II), is being developed through a collaboration between the DoD Global Emerging Infections System and APL. ESSENCE II uses nontraditional health indicators in syndromic groupings coupled with advanced analytical techniques in an advanced information technology environment. It is the first system to integrate both military and civilian indicators into a test bed for the National Capital Area. This article provides a high-level description of ESSENCE II.