1. Improving SARI Surveillance in Saint Lucia
Ministry of Health, Wellness, Human Services and Gender Relations
Saint Lucia
Presented by:
Saint Lucia Ministry of Health Team

2. COUNTRY PROFILE
Saint Lucia is a small volcanic island located midway down the Eastern Caribbean chain, 40 km south of Martinique and 32km north of St. Vincent. The island has an area of 238 sq miles/616sq km (measuring 27 miles long and 14 miles wide).
Population (2010 Census)
: 166, 526 persons
( 82, 926 males and 83, 600 females)
Population density :
796 persons per square mile. 
Estimated mid-year population of 2015 is 173,638

3. Health care Facilities
2 General Hospitals
Victoria located in the north
St. Jude located in the south
Primary health care services
33 Wellness centers
2 District hospitals
1 Private hospital
1 Polyclinic
8 health regions throughout the island
1 Psychiatric hospital
1 Drug Rehabilitation centre

4. Previous SARI Information System
Data is collected by Infection Control Nurses
SARI information is sent along with other disease information for addition to the case notification database (paper based)
Denominator based Data is also sent in summary form to the Epi Unit
Confirmatory lab results are sent on forms
Collected from 32 Wellness centre, 2 public hospitals and 1 private hospital
Data is collected from these sites and sent via , fax or phone
Data from the HMIS (which covers 28 Wellness centres) is sent via
Data is entered using excel

5. Data Analysis Analysis is done using excel.
Incidence of cases by health region and settlement is done using 2015 population estimates as the denominator.

6. Alert threshold: The critical number of cases (or indicator, proportion, rate, etc.) that is used to sound an early warning, launch an investigation at the start of an epidemic and prepare to respond to the epidemic.
Epidemic threshold: Is the critical number or density of susceptible hosts required for an epidemic to occur. The epidemic threshold is used to confirm the emergence of an epidemic so as to step-up appropriate control measures.
Seasonal threshold: defines the start and end of the season (in this case for the specified syndrome). The two intensity thresholds, termed average and alert thresholds, describe relative seasonal intensity.

7. Limitations of Previous System
Data is in summary form
Missing important variables
Sex
Other Age groups
Onset dates
Vaccination information
Travel history
Comorbidities
Risk factors
Double entry of data by ICN’s
No Standard Operating Procedure for Data management
Time lag in the data entry of confirmatory lab results

8. SARI Data Analysis using Online System and Dashboard
PAHOFlu
Allows for multi user data entry in real time
Immediate lab updates

13. Comorbidities (February-April)
Risk Factors
% of SARI Cases
Asthma 61
Diabetes 9
Pulmonary 7
Immuno-compromised
Renal complications 2

15. Use of GIS

16. Custom made SARI Surveillance form for use with smart devices.

17. The way Forward…. Continue fine tuning the online database
Continue being vigilant with the data entry
Implement the use of smart devices for data entry
Publishing more in-depth SARI analyses in Weekly Syndromic Report
Publish an article : Saint Lucia SARI Online Surveillance System, Year one.

18. Acknowledgements PAHO/ WHO Team CARPHA Team Saint Lucia Team
Epidemiology Unit
Laboratory Team
Infection Control Nurses
Special mention: Suriname Team

19. THANK YOU Gracias