Surveillance of febrile patients in a district and evaluation of their spatiotemporal associations: a pilot study.

Background: Fever is an undifferentiated clinical feature that may enhance the sensitivity of syndromic surveillance systems. By studying the spatiotemporal associations of febrile patients, it may allow early detection of case clustering that indicates imminent threat of infectious disease outbreaks in the community.

Methods: We captured consecutive emergency department visits that led to hospitalization in a district hospital in Hong Kong during the period of 12 Sep 2005 to 14 Oct 2005.