The goal of ICS is to establish an integrated network of hospital and public health facilities throughout the Arctic countries to monitor infectious diseases of concern. Linking public health facilities within the Arctic states will allow for the collection and sharing of uniform laboratory and epidemiological data that will describe the prevalence of infectious diseases of concern in Arctic populations, and assist in the formulation of prevention and control strategies.
Arctic Regions of the Circumpolar countries, the United States, Canada, Greenland (Denmark), Iceland, Norway, Finland, Sweden and the Russian Federation, share a common geography, climate, and populations. No longer isolated, these regions not only share an increasing concern over emerging infectious disease problems, but also well established public health infrastructures including infectious disease surveillance systems. Circumpolar countries also share a long history of international cooperation on health issues through the International Union for Circumpolar Health, the Arctic Council, and various bi- and multilateral agreements (see EpiNorth).
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Arctic Investigations Program together with the Indian Health Service, the State of Alaska’s Division of Public Health, and Alaska Native Health corporations and organizations have a long history of initiating and maintaining infectious disease surveillance and prevention and control activities among Native and non-Native residents of the US Arctic1. In 1994 the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention developed a plan to address the threat of emerging infectious diseases in the United States2. The plan, updated in 19993, calls for revitalizing critical public health functions such as surveillance, applied research, infrastructure and training and prevention and control capabilities not only in the US but world wide. In addition, the Committee on International Science Engineering and Technology Policy (CISET), recommended that the US government develop partnerships with other countries, with World Health Organization (WHO), and with other international organizations to improve worldwide disease surveillance, reporting and response4 , resulting in the development and publication in 2002 of the CDC’s Global Infectious Disease Strategy5.
A number of alliances have now been created within Europe and between the US and European Countries to promote international emerging infectious disease surveillance and response networks.
Health Canada through its Laboratory Centre for Disease Control and Bureau of Infectious Diseases maintains national surveillance for emerging infectious diseases. The national health surveillance infrastructure initiative of Health Canada also contributes to the enhancement of surveillance through the development of Internet based tools such as the Spacial Public Health Information Exchange (SPHINX).
The Nordic countries (Denmark, Iceland, Norway, Sweden and Finland) have well established infectious disease surveillance systems in place and have a long standing tradition in the field of international cooperation in infectious disease prevention and control initiatives. A recent collaborative project funded by the Nordic Council of ministers is focused on strengthening infectious disease prevention and control in the adjacent Baltic and Barents sea regions of the Russian Federation.
These international activities together with the formation of a number of international economic alliances (European Union, Asia Pacific Economic Cooperative) provide the opportunity for increased global communication and collaboration between countries to address human health issues of common concern. The establishment of an infectious disease surveillance system within circumpolar countries will allow linkage and standardization of surveillance information to other established systems thereby contributing to the global surveillance and prevention and control of emerging infectious disease problems.
The project initially focused on establishing an international circumpolar surveillance (ICS) system for diseases caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae. This bacterium causes pneumonia, meningitis and bacteremia in both the very young and the elderly. Once easily treated with antibiotics, this bacterium is now becoming resistant to commonly used antibiotics. This is of great concern to the public health community and is increasingly a target for surveillance by many countries world wide.
A vaccine is available for use in persons 2 years of age and older. In the US Arctic this vaccine is recommended for all those over 55 years of age. A new vaccine for infants has been developed and is licenced for use in the US, Canada, and the European Union. The fact that diseases caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae are already being monitored by many public health authorities within the Arctic Council countries make establishing a circumpolar surveillance system for this infection feasible. In addition, the availability of a vaccines for adults and infants makes much illness caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae preventable.
Key components of ICS include:
Once established, this program will form a framework through which surveillance of other infectious diseases as well as prevention and control programs can be added. Other infectious diseases of circumpolar community concern include; other invasive bacterial diseases (caused by Haemophilus influenzae, Neisseria meningitidis, Group A and B streptococcus), tuberculosis, HIV, hepatitis, food (botulism, brucellosis), waterborne diseases, respiratory diseases of children such as those caused by respiratory syncytial virus, and chronic conditions related to infectious agents (hepatitis B virus and liver cancer, human papilloma virus and cervical cancer). The surveillance model developed by this program for infectious disease may also be adapted to monitor other non infectious human health priorities of community concern.
Surveillance
Antimicrobial Resistance
Botulism Chronic
Disease
Haemophilus influenzae
Helicobactor pylori
Hepatitis
International Circumpolar Surveillance
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus
aureus 
Respiratory Syncytial Virus
Streptococcus pneumoniae
Partners in Research