Operational guide: Early warning and response systems (EWARS) for dengue outbreaks
Categories: Health National Adaptation Plans, Guidance document, Tools, Global, Climate Resilient Health Systems
Publisher: World Health Organization
This resource aims to support dengue surveillance strengthening, improving early detection of outbreaks, and enabling timely, evidence-based response actions.
It provides practical guidance on developing and applying an Early Warning and Response System (EWARS) for dengue outbreaks. Guidance includes step‑by‑step instructions for preparing surveillance datasets, selecting and calibrating outbreak and alarm indicators, running retrospective analyses, and generating prospective early warning tools. The guidance also outlines procedures for data management, statistical modelling using Stata, interpretation of alarm signals, and the construction of Excel-based tools for real-time outbreak prediction. By standardizing methods and offering practical troubleshooting support, this guidance helps build technical capacity in settings where resources and analytical expertise may be limited.
Intended users
Ministries of health; Public health professionals; Surveillance officers; Government officials (other sectors).