Evaluating 5.5 Years of Equinella: A Veterinary-Based Voluntary Infectious Disease Surveillance System of Equines in Switzerland.
Authors: Özçelik Ranya, Graubner Claudia, Remy-Wohlfender Franziska, Dürr Salome, Faverjon Céline
Journal: Frontiers in veterinary science
Summary
Equinella, Switzerland's voluntary surveillance system for non-notifiable equine infectious diseases, submitted 630 reports over 5.5 years (November 2013–April 2019), achieving good data validity (88.2–100%) and covering approximately half the Swiss equine population. Though 65.7% of registered veterinarians contributed at least one report, participation declined notably by 2018 when only 28.4% submitted cases; however, 57.8% of veterinarians engaged passively through monthly reminder emails confirming disease absence, suggesting potential for improved active reporting. Reports varied significantly by canton and showed a median submission lag of 7 days, indicating reasonable timeliness for surveillance purposes. These findings highlight both the value of voluntary veterinary surveillance networks in generating continuous equine health intelligence and the substantial challenges in maintaining consistent practitioner engagement and population coverage. For practitioners considering participation in similar systems, the data suggests that reminder protocols may help sustain involvement even when active case submission is sporadic, though structured incentives or integration with routine clinical workflows could meaningfully improve the detection and reporting of emerging equine infectious diseases at both national and international levels.
Read the full abstract on PubMed
Practical Takeaways
- •Voluntary surveillance systems depend heavily on veterinary engagement; consider automated reminders or incentives to maintain participation and reporting rates
- •Geographic variation in reporting suggests some regions may have underdetected disease; practitioners should understand their role in population-level disease monitoring
- •High data validity (88–100%) indicates that streamlined reporting templates and clear case definitions work—use these design principles if implementing similar systems
Key Findings
- •Equinella achieved 50.8% coverage of the Swiss equine population over 5.5 years with 630 submitted reports
- •Data validity ranged from 88.2–100%, with median report submission timeliness of 7 days
- •Only 28.4% of registered veterinarians submitted reports in 2018, though 57.8% responded to monthly reminder emails confirming absence of reportable cases
- •Report incidence varied significantly between cantons, indicating uneven geographical representativeness across Switzerland