O-32 The Significance of Electronic, Real-time Health Surveillance Systems for Healthier, Safer Tourism

Methods: The THP has implemented two electronic syndromic health surveillance systems for early warning as response to tourism-based illnesses. The Tourism Health Information System (THiS) captures illnesses in accommodations and other land-based facilities, and the Caribbean Vessel Surveillance System (CVSS) captures illnesses in travellers and crew onboard cruise ships and vessels. Both are geared towards collecting and analysing health data in real or near real time and issues electronic alerts to countries when a threshold of an illness is surpassed.

Results: In 2022, 31 syndromic THiS alerts were generated comprising of 64 individual cases, 90% of which were responded to. From October 2021-December 2022, 1583 CVSS alerts were issued to countries before ships arrived at the ports, providing timely information for appropriate public health interventions for safe cruise tourism for both local and travellers. There were also rapid response mitigation activities involving both the accommodations and maritime sectors with Tobago, Bermuda, Cayman, Bahamas, Jamaica.

Conclusion: These novel, electronic tourism surveillance systems has enabled the rapid capturing and response to tourism related illnesses, resulting in reduced spread and occurrence of large outbreaks, thereby contributing to improved regional health security. They also captured illnesses not reported by national surveillance systems. They allow for the health and tourism sectors in the Caribbean to work together for an integrated response to tourism based public health threats and thus heathier safer tourism.