Assessment of infectious diseases trends using syndromic surveillance system at the Pohnpei State Hospital, Federated States of Micronesia

Introduction
Syndromic surveillance is a method of monitoring the trends of infectious diseases. Public
health authorities use syndromic surveillance to detect and respond to increased infectious
diseases to investigate and control potential outbreaks. Although the International Health
Regulation mandates all countries to have surveillance systems to monitor infectious diseases
that can cross international borders, many small island countries in the Pacific have been unable
to fulfil their international obligations. The inability of Pacific Island governments to have
well-functioning infectious disease surveillance systems was because most of the surveillance
systems recommended are expensive to implement and maintain. In 2010, the World Health
Organisation (WHO) proposed a simplified surveillance system called the Pacific Syndromic
Surveillance System (PSSS) and implemented it in 23 Pacific Island countries. Presently, all state
health departments in the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) use PSSS for the