Launching a National Surveillance System After an Earthquake—Haiti, 2010

On January 12, 2010, Haiti experienced a magnitude-7.0 earthquake; Haitian government officials estimated that 230,000 persons died and 300,000 were injured. At the time, Haiti had no system capable of providing timely surveillance on a wide range of health conditions. Within 2 weeks, Haiti's Ministry of Public Health and Population (MSPP), the Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO), CDC, and other national and international agencies launched the National Sentinel Site Surveillance (NSSS) System. The objectives were to monitor disease trends, detect outbreaks, and characterize the affected population to target relief efforts. Fifty-one hospital and clinic surveillance sites affiliated with the US President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) were selected to report daily counts by e-mail or telephone for 25 specified reportable conditions. No epidemics or disease clusters were detected. The number of reports decreased overtime. NSSS is ongoing and currently transitioning into becoming a long-term national surveillance system for Haiti.