National Animal Health Surveillance System Outlook
Issue 7, August 2005
The NAHSS Outlook is an electronic communication with information about the National Animal Health Surveillance System (NAHSS) that is distributed via email to all members of Veterinary Services. Contact the National Surveillance Unit to provide comments and suggestions for future topics.
Articles in This Issue:
- Cattle Fever Tick Surveillance in Texas
- Role of CEI in Coordinationg International Safeguarding Information via OPIS
- VS Atlas Spatial Data Library Release
- Measuring and Improving Data Quality Part IV: Conclusions and Specific Suggestions
Cattle Fever Tick Surveillance in Texas
The National Cattle Fever Tick Eradication Program was created in 1906 to eliminate bovine babesiosis (also known as Texas Fever), which had caused significant economic damage to the cattle industry. By 1943, the disease was eradicated in the United States, except for a permanent quarantine zone along the Rio Grande River in south Texas. Despite surveillance and control activities that continue today, fever-tick outbreaks have increased recently for a variety of reasons. Read more about Cattle Fever Tick surveillance.
Role of CEI in Coordinating International Safeguarding Information via OPIS
CEI acts as the coordinator for all information entered into the Offshore Pest Information System (OPIS). OPIS is a secure Web-based information sharing tool that enables multiple users to access, respond to, and act upon information about international events that effect animal and plant health. This collaborative effort between VS, International Services, and Plant Protection and Quarantine has created one system to track disease levels in other countries, conduct import risk assessments, and identify emerging diseases. Read more about OPIS.
VS Atlas Spatial Data Library Release
VS Atlas is a geographic data library that provides APHIS staff with geographic data layers for use in maps and spatial analyses. The VS Atlas contains data from the Census of Agriculture and on animal diseases, disease vectors, surveillance, veterinary resources, and wildlife/insect ranges. The VS Atlas Extension is a custom tool that connects users directly to the spatial data library and allows them to preview and download spatial data from the VS Atlas Library. By providing rapid access to preformatted data, common spatial tasks will be simplified. Click here to read more about the VS Atlas.
Measuring and Improving Data Quality, Part IV
In this final article of the four-part series, Michael Martin draws conclusions and makes suggestions about data quality improvement within VS based on the principles discussed in previous articles. He reiterates the importance of secondary uses of data, defining and measuring quality attributes, and the feedback loop. These concepts are integrated into his recommendations for data quality enhancement. Read more on Measuring and Improving Data Quality.