Devex: Big data can prevent global health crises — it’s time to make the most of it
Gary Finnegan, editor in chief of Break Dengue; Pratit Samdani, an honorary associate professor of medicine at Sir J.J. Group of Hospitals and unit head at G.T., Jaslok, Breach Candy, Bhatia, Saifee, Cumballa Hill, and Global Hospitals; Kamran Rafiq, communications director at the International Society for Neglected Tropical Diseases

“…[G]athering as much information as we can about the spread of mosquito-borne diseases is a practical first step in turning the tide against them. Each one of these diseases poses a serious public health challenge about which much can be learned by studying and tracking other mosquito-borne illnesses. To truly make the most of the technologies available to us, data experts need to step out of their traditional private sector roles and work collaboratively with NGOs and local governments. We need to create more partnerships to develop tools such as Dengue Track, which can locate existing cases and prevent mosquito-borne diseases from spreading further. Modern technology has already proven invaluable in the fight against hundreds of other diseases — let’s use it to combat these too” (10/24).