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EURASIAN EXPERIMENT JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES (EEJBS)
ISSN: 2992-4138 ©EEJBS Publications
Volume 5 Issue 2 2024

Page | 37

The Role of AI in Enhancing Public Health

Surveillance
Kibibi Muthoni L.

Faculty of Science and Technology Kampala International University Uganda

ABSTRACT
Artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming increasingly important in revolutionizing public health monitoring
by addressing data processing issues faced by the vast and diversified sources of health data. Traditional
surveillance approaches frequently delay the detection of disease outbreaks, but AI's capacity to
preprocess, analyze, and visualize huge datasets in real-time allows health systems to spot patterns and
anticipate epidemics more effectively. This study investigates current issues in public health surveillance,
AI applications, and its potential to improve global health monitoring. Key AI technologies such as
natural language processing (NLP), anomaly detection, and deep learning are explored, as well as the
ethical and privacy considerations required for responsible AI deployment. While AI brings incredible
prospects, there are still hurdles to establishing egalitarian, secure, and practical applications that
maintain global health safety.
Keywords: Artificial intelligence, public health surveillance, disease outbreak detection, Big Data.
INTRODUCTION
AI's role in improving public health surveillance is crucial as technology advances. The use of artificial
intelligence in this field has proven to be incredibly beneficial. Outdated methods cause considerable
delays in identifying illness clusters, underscoring the immense importance of early detection.
Traditionally, data is primarily collected from hospitals and clinics, but with the advent of new sources
such as electronic health records, social media platforms, and search engine queries, novel techniques have
become necessary for effectively analyzing the exponential growth of Big Data in public health
surveillance. The integration of AI technologies allows for more efficient data processing and analysis,
enabling health professionals to swiftly detect potential outbreaks, identify patterns, and ultimately make
timely and informed decisions that can save lives. Through the utilization of AI, public health agencies
can harness the power of technology, enhance disease surveillance, and protect the well-being of
communities on a global scale [1, 2]. AI is advancing in extracting knowledge from complex data. It can
preprocess, analyze, and visualize Big Data for insights. This allows for monitoring public health using
sensors, social media, and telephone calls to detect clusters of mosquitoes, diseases, heat, etc. AI extracts
signals from Big Data to detect unusual patterns and events needing investigation. The potential of AI for
disease outbreak detection is reviewed, focusing on NLP, anomaly detection, and deep learning
algorithms. Recent breakthroughs are transforming public health surveillance. AI applications in public
health surveillance are underscored [3, 4].
Current Challenges in Public Health Surveillance
Public health surveillance plays a vital role in the effective management of infectious diseases on a global
scale. The COVID-19 pandemic has served as a stark reminder of the weaknesses in current surveillance
systems, highlighting the need for significant improvements. To address the challenges associated with
data collection, analysis, and accessibility, innovative approaches are required. The integration of data is
particularly complex due to variations in technology and policy across different regions. It is a persistent
problem to encounter under-reporting of diseases such as Tuberculosis, Indicator diseases, and Dengue in
developing countries. These factors necessitate a comprehensive overhaul of existing surveillance systems
to ensure accurate and timely information for disease control efforts [5, 6]. The healthcare sector
provides rich datasets for extracting public health insights, but many of these datasets go unused due to
challenges in analysis and interpretation. In developing nations, limited domain knowledge in healthcare
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and epidemiology further complicates understanding these insights. Even when analysis is performed,
sharing public health insights online faces challenges of technology, data confidentiality, compliance, and
intellectual property rights. Lack of awareness and a central team hinder data dissemination in developing
nations [7].
Overview Of Artificial Intelligence (AI) In Public Health Surveillance
The integration of AI technologies in public health systems improves global healthcare. However, current
AI models are limited and cannot support complex scenarios. Restricting the development of AI models Page | 38
delays the fair use of technology. Understanding social disparities and health AI in emerging countries is
important [8]. Fan et al. propose a methodological framework and three algorithms for the integration of
a deep learning model with big geographical data across multiscale settings for the prediction of dengue
fever incidence rates. Different from conventional fixed-district but data-hungry models, this approach
employs representative data determined by the predominant decision-making scale for each geographic
context. These alternatives may enhance the operation of an AI model vastly used across climatic,
demographic, and sociopolitical contexts. Extreme scenarios in the emergence and abandonment of
dengue fever account for the heterogeneousness of Brazil, Mexico, and the Philippines datasets. Local
settings are characterized by weather data variations in diverse geographic orders, cities and states, and
census districts and municipalities, respectively. Furthermore, the prediction accuracy of dengue incidence
peaks around the 90-day ahead forecasts period across nations in sharp contrast with the 180-day ahead
forecasts failure common to standard fixed-district deep learning modeling which takes 430K time and
300,830 space-based variables across these nations and used in reference peer countries model
implementation like Nepal, India, or Sri Lanka [9, 10]. This relative advantage is expected to grant
gainfulness, allowing the establishment of cross-border and worldwide alliances for low- and middle-
income countries. However, unexplored intrinsic socioeconomic vicissitudes may prevent the zealous and
fair use of health AI by those nations to the detriment of inequity across epidemical developments.
Collection, database, and hardware capabilities are expected to be spotted across underprivileged regions,
whilst developers’ costs accessing scientific literature and high-profile journal data supersede the gross
national income of several nations [11, 12].
Applications of AI in Public Health Surveillance
AI’s applications in public health surveillance are diverse and impactful. The automation of the
surveillance process, challenging large-volume data extraction and analysis, is feasible because AI tools
can process extensive datasets swiftly and with minimal human interaction. Various AI tools have been
developed to be integrated with existing surveillance systems to reinforce their abilities in handling the
volume and velocity of data collection. For instance, natural language processing, text mining, and
machine learning models can analyze data from numerous sources, such as the web, phone lines, social
networks, and reports from physicians, among others. The usability of such tools is important; however,
integrating them into existing systems may prove to be costly and time-consuming. Additionally, the
efficacy of both technical and non-technical aspects of these AI implementations has not received much
attention. Users will likely require training and guidance when using the new systems or methods, and
the legal aspects of data privacy and security are also issues to tackle [13, 14]. Public health authorities
must appreciate that adopting AI tools doesn't mean abandoning existing systems. These tools should
reinforce actions already taken, offering new possibilities. Convincing stakeholders of their value is
complex, as they may not be aware of the importance of AI. There is a paradox in efficiently utilizing
knowledge. Discriminating among issues for improvement is difficult. AI systems can target specific
issues in public health or be tested against generic problems. They hold potential value but can generate
vague ideas. There is a lag in adopting AI in public health surveillance due to a narrow focus on
technology and neglecting other perspectives [15, 16].
Ethical and Privacy Considerations in AI-Enhanced Public Health Surveillance
As AI technologies evolve, ethical and privacy concerns in public health surveillance systems need
attention. The lack of public understanding hinders ethical implementation. Public health surveillance
systems lack examination compared to others, making it unclear if bias and privacy concerns are similar.
The COVID-19 pandemic sparked interest in AI-enabled contact tracing, but data collection raised civil
liberty concerns and misinformation barriers. To responsibly advance AI-enhanced public health
surveillance, investigating public perceptions and awareness is crucial. This review can be a framework to
explore other regions and advocate for ethical development globally [17, 18]. The COVID-19 pandemic
exposed numerous deficiencies in public health systems that resulted in a delayed response to the viral
outbreak; as a result, infection rates climbed steeply, devastating economies and healthcare systems. The
advent of AI technology has been hailed as a potential ‘game changer’ in addressing such lacunae by
providing near-real-time analysis of voluminous data sources and accurately predicting disease trends.
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Despite being heralded as a ‘silver bullet’ in managing global health threats, the use of AI systems in
public health has sparked complex ethical dilemmas involving biased dataset selection, training
procedures, and opaque algorithms. These issues ultimately undermine public trust, acceptance, or
compliance of AI-enhanced systems designed to monitor viral spread. For the rapid deployment of this
technological advancement, frameworks similar to those developed for biomedical, environmental, and
spatial geoengineering research should be established. These measures would require the development of
socially responsible guidelines and regulations pre-empting any potentially harmful impact on a
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community, sub-group, or population. Given the transformative potential of AI technology, such
involvement would ensure its controlled and harmonized utilization for the betterment of the public [19,
20].
CONCLUSION
AI has the potential to transform public health surveillance by analyzing large datasets quickly and
detecting significant health hazards in real-time. Integration into public health systems has the potential
to greatly improve disease surveillance, allowing for faster and more accurate detection of epidemics.
However, effective adoption necessitates overcoming technical, ethical, and privacy difficulties. Building
public trust and widespread adoption requires ensuring that AI systems are transparent, equitable, and
respectful of individuals' rights. As AI advances, it becomes essential for public health authorities to
carefully incorporate these technologies to enhance global health outcomes while maintaining privacy and
ethical norms.
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CITE AS: Kibibi Muthoni L. (2024). The Role of AI in Enhancing Public Health
Surveillance. EURASIAN EXPERIMENT JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
5(2):37-40