Office of Border Health

Early Warning Infectious Disease Surveillance (EWIDS)

 

In 2003, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) designated $5 million per year to be allocated to the northern and southern states bordering Canada and Mexico for the Early Warning Infectious Disease Surveillance System (EWIDS). The existing Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Public Health Emergency Preparedness Cooperative Agreement is the funding mechanism for the twenty states that have chosen to participate. Twenty of the 21 border states participate in EWIDS (Illinois chose not to participate).

The goal of EWIDS was to improve cross-border activities in early detection, identification, and reporting of infectious diseases associated with potential bio-terrorism agents or other major threats to public health.
EWIDS Objectives were to:

1. Detect, identify, and report outbreaks of infectious diseases (whether terrorist-induced or naturally occurring)

2. Conduct epidemiological investigations

3. Develop laboratory capability to rapidly identify and characterize biological agents

4. Share clinical, laboratory and epidemiological information electronically with public health officials in neighboring jurisdictions (both Mexican and U.S.)

5. Train public health personnel in surveillance and epidemiology

EWIDS represents a unique collaboration of state, federal and international partners who collaborate to provided rapid and effective laboratory confirmation of urgent infectious disease case reports in the border regions of the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Activities can include assessing surveillance and laboratory capacity on each side of the international border, improving electronic sharing of laboratory information, maintaining a database of all sentinel/clinical labs, and work to develop and agree on a list of notifiable conditions. However, the states decided to expand beyond laboratory and epidemiology issues that include working on cross border Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs), pandemic influenza tabletop exercises, expanding the Health Alert Network (HAN) into Canada and cross-training in laboratory procedures. There were many issues surrounding working with countries on our borders, including stockpiling prophylaxis medications, quarantine and movement of documented workers into their home country in the event of a public health emergency.

In the case of EWIDS in New Mexico, the Office of Border Health collaborates with the Department of Health’s Epidemiology and Response Division/Infectious Disease Epidemiology Bureau to catalyze activities with relevant health authorities in West Texas and Chihuahua State Health Services, and with non-government healthcare services providers operating in New Mexico’s border counties.