Electronic Disease Surveillance for Sensitive Population Groups - The Diabetics Case Study

Diabetics are quite susceptible to infectious diseases and can easily spread them under certain circumstances. Their blood glucose levels are increased after infection and this can cause a hyperglycemic crisis. Our study indicates that this increase results in glucosylated hemoglobin elevation, even when a diabetic is monitored closely and his/her blood glucose is under tight control. Thus, it is important to detect infections at the very early stages of disease progression in order to aid the patient. For this purpose, an electronic Disease Surveillance System could be developed to collect and analyze blood glucose data. Generally, we could extend the use of blood glucose data to the implementation of disease surveillance systems for the general population.