Event-based surveillance in the Republic of Korea: assessment of the effectiveness of Epidemic Intelligence from Open Sources

Authors

  • Seontae Kim Division of Risk Assessment, Bureau of Public Health Emergency Preparedness, Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, Cheongju, Republic of Korea https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7239-6353
  • Jia Lee Division of Risk Assessment, Bureau of Public Health Emergency Preparedness, Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, Cheongju, Republic of Korea https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8083-1941
  • Jiyoung Oh Division of Risk Assessment, Bureau of Public Health Emergency Preparedness, Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, Cheongju, Republic of Korea https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1179-7532
  • Ji Joo Lee Division of Risk Assessment, Bureau of Public Health Emergency Preparedness, Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, Cheongju, Republic of Korea https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2850-3406
  • Geehyuk Kim Division of Risk Assessment, Bureau of Public Health Emergency Preparedness, Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, Cheongju, Republic of Korea https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8336-3741
  • Jaehwa Chung Division of Risk Assessment, Bureau of Public Health Emergency Preparedness, Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, Cheongju, Republic of Korea https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1744-2687
  • Yunhee Lee Division of Risk Assessment, Bureau of Public Health Emergency Preparedness, Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, Cheongju, Republic of Korea https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0442-3014
  • Yongmoon Kim Division of Risk Assessment, Bureau of Public Health Emergency Preparedness, Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, Cheongju, Republic of Korea https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2094-6947
  • Sangwoo Tak Division of Risk Assessment, Bureau of Public Health Emergency Preparedness, Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, Cheongju, Republic of Korea https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3576-4524

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5365/wpsar.2025.16.3.1151

Keywords:

epidemiology, epidemic intelligence, event-based surveillance, early warning system, EIOS system, outbreak detection, artificial intelligence

Abstract

In 2023, the Republic of Korea’s Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) enhanced its event-based surveillance practices by using the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Epidemic Intelligence from Open Sources (EIOS) to actively screen and share information about potential public health threats to the country. This report describes the preliminary assessment of the results of implementing these enhanced event-based surveillance activities from June to October 2023. During this period, 425 (0.4%) events were detected globally by the KDCA from 99 945 media articles, with the highest frequency reported in Asia (185, 43.5%) and North America (81, 19.1%). The most frequently reported diseases or conditions were dengue fever (111, 26.1%) and mpox (32, 7.5%). Eight events were detected early by the KDCA using EIOS before being officially listed on WHO’s Event Information Site (EIS) or in Disease Outbreak News (DON), with an average interval of 20 days (range: 5–41) between the detection date and posting on EIS or DON. Thus, EIOS is efficient in aiding early detection of potential public health threats at the national level. This finding highlights the importance of sustaining international cooperation and support to enhance surveillance capabilities in resource-limited settings and expanding the scope of EIOS, including by incorporating additional sources and sources in additional languages, reducing noise. However, as the current report is based on a descriptive analysis, in the future a systematic evaluation of event-based surveillance using EIOS to identify relevant attributes will need to be conducted.

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Published

28-07-2025

How to Cite

1.
Kim S, Lee J, Oh J, Lee JJ, Kim G, Chung J, Lee Y, Kim Y, Tak S. Event-based surveillance in the Republic of Korea: assessment of the effectiveness of Epidemic Intelligence from Open Sources. Western Pac Surveill Response J [Internet]. 2025 Jul. 28 [cited 2026 Apr. 9];16(3). Available from: https://ojs.wpro.who.int/ojs/index.php/wpsar/article/view/1151

Issue

Vol. 16 No. 3 (2025): July – September

Section

Surveillance System Implementation / Evaluation

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