Sources & methodology
Observium aggregates signals, alerts, and surveillance updates on more than fifty infectious diseases, prioritising official health authorities. Where available, it integrates national bulletins, scientific literature, and trusted news, while distinguishing between confirmed cases, monitoring activity, health responses, and journalistic mentions.
Core principle
Observium is not a medical diagnosis or an official bulletin. Its purpose is to make public information from health institutions, epidemiological reports, and authoritative journalism more accessible and consultable in a single map view.
Official global sources
National health institutions
Observium scrapes national-level bulletins, press releases, and dedicated disease pages from health authorities across Europe, Africa, and the Americas. These complement the global feeds with country-specific context (active surveillance, contact tracing, suspected vs. confirmed cases) that often surfaces hours or days before WHO/CDC.
Source hierarchy
When multiple sources cover the same event, Observium prioritises them in this order:
- Official health authorities — WHO, ECDC, CDC, PAHO, national ministries of health and notifiable-disease surveillance systems.
- Technical reports & epidemiological bulletins — risk assessments, disease outbreak news, surveillance updates from recognised institutions.
- Trusted news & wire agencies — used for operational context (evacuations, timelines, local updates), always distinguished from official bulletins.
- Aggregated signals — public databases, monitoring platforms and aggregators provide indicators, not autonomous medical confirmations.
How to read the map markers
-
Confirmed case Laboratory-confirmed (PCR/serology) or official statement of confirmed case(s). Solid filled marker.
-
Suspected / probable case Cases under investigation or considered probable; not yet definitively confirmed. Ringed marker.
-
Health response Screening, quarantine, contact tracing, medical evacuation, isolation, or preventive measures. Amber marker.
-
Monitoring / policy Country mentioned for surveillance, repatriation, or international coordination — not necessarily for local cases. Grey marker.
-
News signal Journalistic mention from a major news source, geocoded to a country reference. Small blue dot — context only.
Why some countries appear without local cases
On a signal-driven map, a country may appear for several reasons. For example, it may be cited because it has activated public-health controls, received an evacuated patient, repatriated nationals, participated in contact tracing, or because a news source mentioned it in relation to an international event.
To avoid confusion, Observium distinguishes between principal event, confirmed case, health response, monitoring, and news signal. This distinction is essential to prevent turning a journalistic mention into a public-health alarm.
Updates and limitations
Information can change rapidly. Some data may be reported first by media outlets and then confirmed or corrected by health authorities. Observium prioritises official sources when available and clearly marks content originating from news or aggregators.
Routes shown for events such as vessel-linked outbreaks are indicative, based on public AIS sources, and should not be interpreted as official GPS tracking.
Caveat
Observium is an informational and educational tool. It does not replace the advice of a physician, a health authority, or an official source. In case of symptoms, suspected exposure, or doubts, please contact a healthcare professional or the competent authorities.