Real-time Arthropod-borne Pathogen Targeted Operational Reporting System (RAPTORS)

About the Program

Category: Health (Best in Category)

Year: 2016

Suffolk County’s Arthropod-Borne Disease Laboratory (ABDL) conducts countywide arthropod-borne disease surveillance for West Nile Virus (WNV) and Eastern Equine Encephalitis Virus (EEEV). The surveillance program generates data that needs to be organized, analyzed and shared with several other Suffolk County offices. This information is necessary to evaluate the degree of human risk and to make decisions about mosquito control measures. In 2014, the ABDL launched a mosquito surveillance data management system called RAPTORS (Real-time Arthropod-borne Pathogen Targeted Operational Reporting System). RAPTORS is a web-based electronic data management system created using SharePoint Designer and Workspaces. RAPTORS replaced paper trap sheets, manual data entry, manual data sharing, manual data analysis and manual data calculations. RAPTORS has given us the ability to rapidly share information between the Department of Health Services and the Department of Public Works and allows us to make time sensitive decisions about public health control measures necessary to protect the residents of Suffolk County from arthropod-borne diseases. In addition, RAPTORS has increased efficiency by utilizing technology and eliminating several steps in the workflow. A savings of 75 work days and 4,200 sheets of paper was realized using the RAPTORS data management system in 2015. The RAPTORS data management system can be utilized for new or emerging arthropod-borne pathogens such as Zika virus.