Distribute Project – International Society for Disease Surveillance

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Distribute fostered new insights into syndromic surveillance practice from 2006-2012. Distribute was initially developed as a proof of concept model funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s BioSense program, with additional funding from the Markle Foundation. During H1N1, Distribute saw expansion in both site participation and functionality with funding and support from the CDC. The International Society for Disease Surveillance (ISDS) is proud of the community of practice that developed and supported the system and each other over time, and recognizes the advances that its participants have contributed to the field. 

The evolving nature of syndromic surveillance practice in the US has led ISDS to make the difficult decision to end its management of the Distribute system. 

As of April 4, 2012, ISDS no longer displays visualizations of the Proportion of Emergency Department Visits For Influenza-like Illness (ILI) per Week on this site. 

The Distribute Project collected data until May 31, 2012. Former data providers may still access the Distribute community forum. 

For questions, please contact ISDS Executive Director Laura Streichert at  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it  or 617-779-7351.

About Distribute

Project Overview

The International Society for Disease Surveillance (ISDS) worked in partnership with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the Public Health Informatics Institute (PHII) to improve surveillance for influenza-like illness. This initiative leveraged the Distribute syndromic surveillance project, developed and piloted by ISDS, to enhance and support Emergency Department (ED) surveillance in order to make aggregate level data available to experts in public health. Distribute complemented existing surveillance methods by providing a more comprehensive and detailed situational awareness of geographic and age-specific patterns of influenza-like illness.

Project Background

In its proof-of-concept phase, Distribute stood for Distributed Surveillance Taskforce for Real-time Influenza Burden Tracking and Evaluation. This stage was made possible through an award from National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) to ISDS, through its cooperative agreement with the CDC. ISDS partnered with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists (CSTE), the National Association of County and City Health Officers (NACCHO) and the Association of State and Territorial Health Officers (ASTHO). A project advisory board was formed that was composed of representatives from all of the above mentioned agencies to ensure that the work corresponded with the views and needs of local, state, and federal public heath entities.