The user-friendly weekly report provides valuable information about the spread of infectious diseases like measles, influenza and COVID-19 to physicians, public health leaders and the public.
PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] - Measles cases are increasing across North America. Seasonal flu activity is decreasing nationally, but the deaths of children from influenza has increased to the highest levels since 2009. Cases of pertussis have nearly doubled compared to this time last year. Cholera and mpox continue to spread across Africa, and Australia confirmed its first case of the latter.
Those are a few of the findings reported in the most recent edition of the Tracking Report from researchers at the Pandemic Center at the Brown University School of Public Health.
The Tracking Report, launched in 2024, has become a valuable information source for subscribers ranging from journalists to physicians and health care experts to policymakers. Many readers say the free weekly newsletter stands out for its comprehensive, accurate coverage of fast-moving public health threats, especially at a time when federal information sources have disappeared or become inconsistent.
Jennifer Nuzzo, an epidemiologist and director of the Pandemic Center, said her team launched the Tracking Report as a way to monitor how and where diseases are spreading.
"There wasn't a place where you could get a snapshot of what's going on with all of the disease outbreaks that are happening not just in the United States but also globally, and that have the potential to spread to other countries," Nuzzo said. "So we created what we needed. As it turns out, lots of other people needed it, too."
The information in the report comes from a variety of sources, Nuzzo said, including the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, often aggregated in a way that the CDC doesn't release publicly. The team also goes to state health departments to obtain details such as the number of hospitalizations and deaths due to measles, as well as the ages and immunization statuses of measles patients.
According to Dr. Scott Rivkees, a professor of the practice of health services, policy and practice at Brown's School of Public Health, disease surveillance is a pillar of public health.
"We know that infectious disease knows no boundaries, and preparedness and response are very much dependent upon surveillance and knowledge…" said Rivkees, an endocrinologist who served previously as Florida's surgeon general and secretary of health. "This tracker plays a very valuable role in showing what is happening around the world. I check it every week, and I know my colleagues in public health across the country look at it as well."
Dr. Loren Galvao, who teaches public health courses at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee's School of Nursing, recently discovered the Tracking Report and is using it as a resource to inform in-class discussions.
"It is essential to me to have information from trusted sources, and I feel I can trust this report," Galvao said.
Carolyn Needleman, a professor emeritus at Bryn Mawr College who now resides in Providence, finds the Tracking Report to be an excellent resource to keep on top of circulating infectious diseases.
"Since COVID-19, we're all more concerned about pandemics," Needleman said. "I think that's especially true for those of us living in congregate housing. It's comforting and empowering to have a weekly, easy-to-read, science-based report like the tracker."
Nuzzo said that the report does include some good news.
"We recently saw a swift containment in Uganda of an outbreak of Ebola, involving a strain for which there is no readily available vaccine," Nuzzo said.
In each edition, Nuzzo pens a brief commentary to accompany the data.
"We can't just put out the numbers about increases of cases of measles and pertussis without saying that they're not normal," Nuzzo said. "I think our political class is in denial as to how worrisome these disease events are and what they could mean for the U.S. in terms of housing, life expectancy and prosperity."
