EpiCore is a community of more than 2,200 human, animal and environmental health professionals using innovative surveillance methods to verify and update reports from formal and informal sources about public health events. The world-wide distribution of members (145 countries) provides a voluntary professional collaboration in proximity to where events are reported contributing in a faster verification process.
EpiCore members (“Responders”) may answer anonymously to requests for information (RFI) sent by moderators (“Requesters”) of several organizations, including ProMED, HealthMap and MSF Spain, via a secure online reporting system. The information collected is used by each organization for risk assessment purposes and disseminated through their own information channels. In addition, short summaries including main findings of the process are finalized and posted on an open webpage (Epicore Public Dashboard). Responders give highest priority to reliable sources of information including direct/indirect documentation, official statements and complementary reliable reports obtained at local level. Despite this, Epicore does not aim to replace any official reporting system and is meant to be a complementary actor supporting public health organizations in their activities.
EpiCore requires minimum credentials to join the network: professional must have at least 2 of the following:
a) advanced degree in Public Health or similar (e.g. MPH);
b) health professional certification/ licensure (e.g. MD, DVM, RN);
c) at least 3 years of health experience (human, animal and/or environmental) ;
d) current affiliation with a medical center, university, MOH, DoH or other health-related organization including NGOs & private sector;
e) successful completion of a Field Epidemiology Training Program.
EpiCore members have a relevant role in terms of global health security as they may speed up the identification and verification of public health events allowing more timely public health actions. In addition, we provide members with access to exclusive contents on infectious diseases surveillance and control, including the possibility to attend public health training sessions and educational material.
If you are interested to join, please visit our website. Please consider also sharing this information with your professional networks: we are always looking for new members to improve our coverage worldwide. For any further questions please write us at info@epicore.org and refer to the following links:
- EpiCore website: https://epicore.org/#/about
- Bulletin of the World Health Organization 2018; 96:327-334 doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.2471/BLT.17.207225