Outbreak analytics: a developing data science for informing the response to emerging pathogens
type: Article
item type: journalArticle
is part of: Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci
authors: Person
  surname: Polonsky
  given name: J. A.
authors: Person
  surname: Baidjoe
  given name: A.
authors: Person
  surname: Kamvar
  given name: Z. N.
authors: Person
  surname: Cori
  given name: A.
authors: Person
  surname: Durski
  given name: K.
authors: Person
  surname: Edmunds
  given name: W. J.
authors: Person
  surname: Eggo
  given name: R. M.
authors: Person
  surname: Funk
  given name: S.
authors: Person
  surname: Kaiser
  given name: L.
authors: Person
  surname: Keating
  given name: P.
authors: Person
  surname: de Waroux
  given name: O. L. P.
authors: Person
  surname: Marks
  given name: M.
authors: Person
  surname: Moraga
  given name: P.
authors: Person
  surname: Morgan
  given name: O.
authors: Person
  surname: Nouvellet
  given name: P.
authors: Person
  surname: Ratnayake
  given name: R.
authors: Person
  surname: Roberts
  given name: C. H.
authors: Person
  surname: Whitworth
  given name: J.
authors: Person
  surname: Jombart
  given name: T.
subject: *Data Science
subject: *Models, Biological
subject: Communicable Diseases, Emerging/*prevention & control
subject: Disease Outbreaks/*prevention & control
subject: Humans
subject: epidemics
subject: infectious
subject: methods
subject: pipeline
subject: software
subject: tools
abstract: Despite continued efforts to improve health systems worldwide, emerging pathogen epidemics remain a major public health concern. Effective response to such outbreaks relies on timely intervention, ideally informed by all available sources of data. The collection, visualization and analysis of outbreak data are becoming increasingly complex, owing to the diversity in types of data, questions and available methods to address them. Recent advances have led to the rise of outbreak analytics, an emerging data science focused on the technological and methodological aspects of the outbreak data pipeline, from collection to analysis, modelling and reporting to inform outbreak response. In this article, we assess the current state of the field. After laying out the context of outbreak response, we critically review the most common analytics components, their inter-dependencies, data requirements and the type of information they can provide to inform operations in real time. We discuss some challenges and opportunities and conclude on the potential role of outbreak analytics for improving our understanding of, and response to outbreaks of emerging pathogens. This article is part of the theme issue 'Modelling infectious disease outbreaks in humans, animals and plants: epidemic forecasting and control'. This theme issue is linked with the earlier issue 'Modelling infectious disease outbreaks in humans, animals and plants: approaches and important themes'.
date: 2019-05-21
pages: 20180276
coverage: 31104603

Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci
type: Journal
volume: 374
number: 1776
identifier: DOI 10.1098/rstb.2018.0276
identifier: ISSN 1471-2970 (Electronic) 0962-8436 (Print) 0962-8436 (Linking)