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The 2017 Solar Eclipse: Implementing Enhanced Syndromic Surveillance on the Path of Totality in Kentucky

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 April 2020

Kristen Heitzinger ,
Douglas A. Thoroughman ,
Blake D. Johnson ,
Andrew Chandler ,
John W. Prather ,
Heather M. Walls ,
Sara D. Robeson  and
Kimberly A. Porter
Kristen Heitzinger
Affiliation:
Division of Epidemiology and Health Planning, Kentucky Department for Public Health, Frankfort, KY
Douglas A. Thoroughman*
Affiliation:
Division of Epidemiology and Health Planning, Kentucky Department for Public Health, Frankfort, KY Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA
Blake D. Johnson
Affiliation:
Christian County Health Department, Hopkinsville, KY
Andrew Chandler
Affiliation:
Kentucky Board of Emergency Medical Services, Lexington, KY
John W. Prather
Affiliation:
Division of Epidemiology and Health Planning, Kentucky Department for Public Health, Frankfort, KY
Heather M. Walls
Affiliation:
Division of Public Health Protection and Safety, Kentucky Department for Public Health, Frankfort, KY
Sara D. Robeson
Affiliation:
Division of Epidemiology and Health Planning, Kentucky Department for Public Health, Frankfort, KY
Kimberly A. Porter
Affiliation:
Division of Epidemiology and Health Planning, Kentucky Department for Public Health, Frankfort, KY Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA Division of Public Health Protection and Safety, Kentucky Department for Public Health, Frankfort, KY
*
Correspondence and reprint requests to Douglas A. Thoroughman, Kentucky Department for Public Health, 275 E. Main St., HS 2GW-C, Frankfort, KY40621 (e-mail: [email protected])
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Abstract

Objective:

The 2017 solar eclipse was associated with mass gatherings in many of the 14 states along the path of totality. The Kentucky Department for Public Health implemented an enhanced syndromic surveillance system to detect increases in emergency department (ED) visits and other health care needs near Hopkinsville, Kentucky, where the point of greatest eclipse occurred.

Methods:

EDs flagged visits of patients who participated in eclipse events from August 17–22. Data from 14 area emergency medical services and 26 first-aid stations were also monitored to detect health-related events occurring during the eclipse period.

Results:

Forty-four potential eclipse event-related visits were identified, primarily injuries, gastrointestinal illness, and heat-related illness. First-aid stations and emergency medical services commonly attended to patients with pain and heat-related illness.

Conclusions:

Kentucky’s experience during the eclipse demonstrated the value of patient visit flagging to describe the disease burden during a mass gathering and to investigate epidemiological links between cases. A close collaboration between public health authorities within and across jurisdictions, health information exchanges, hospitals, and other first-response care providers will optimize health surveillance activities before, during, and after mass gatherings.

Keywords

eclipseKentuckymass gatheringpublic health systemssyndromic surveillance
Type
Brief Report
Information
Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness , Volume 15 , Issue 2 , April 2021 , pp. 160 - 163
Copyright
Copyright © 2020 Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Inc.

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