Open ESSENCE: An open-source, self-contained disease surveillance software application for global use

Electronic biosurveillance systems can improve the timeliness of public health data collection, aid in the early detection of disease outbreaks, and enhance situational awareness. As part of the Suite for Automated Global Electronic bioSurveillance (SAGES) program, the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) developed an open-source software tool called OpenESSENCE. OpenESSENCE provides out-of-the-box web-based data entry, analysis, and reporting that may significantly improve global disease surveillance, including surveillance in a wide range of resource-limited settings. Local health clinics have recognized that this new technology may help their countries comply with the World Health Organization revised International Health Regulations (IHR 2005) and prevent or mitigate disease outbreaks. This article briefly reviews OpenESSENCE and describes updates made during the last 2 years. © 2014 by The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory.