Hepatitis surveillance system for rural Pakistan through web and mobile based technologies

Abstract

There are over 12 million carriers of viral Hepatitis virus in Pakistan per year with estimated mortality of 140,000 deaths/year as estimated by World Health Organization [1]. This number is rising fast due to its unchecked spread in rural communities. An accurate Hepatitis surveillance continues to remain a challenge in Pakistan hence making it tough for health professionals, policy makers as well as relevant healthcare to comprehend Hepatitis spread and its burden in rural communities. This paper presents a holistic model for electronic surveillance of Hepatitis in developing countries using web, mobile phone and GIS based technologies. Using the proposed innovative model, Rural Health Workers (including Lady Health Workers- LHWs) and medical practitioners will be using customized mobile services to report and track the Hepatitis patient to our central server. This data will be collated and plotted on GIS map of the areas so that visual picture displaying spread of disease can be monitored. Furthermore, `Contact Tracing' procedure will be applied to track down the origin of the disease as well as Hepatitis exposed personals. This knowledge will play a crucial role for key healthcare stakeholders in designing effective Hepatitis preventive care program as well as understanding its dynamics in rural communities of Pakistan. The model is currently implemented in Zahidabad, a village in Mardan, Kyber Pahktunkhwa, Pakistan. We also discuss Jaroka Tele-Healthcare, Hepatitis surveillance project model, method and results of electronic surveillance conducted across 14 villages in rural Mardan.