U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS — The Virgin Islands Department of Health continues to gain national recognition for advancing public health through innovative research, modern disease surveillance, and data-driven solutions that help protect the health of Virgin Islands residents.

Over the past several months, scientists and epidemiologists within the Department’s Epidemiology Division have published multiple peer-reviewed studies in leading scientific journals, highlighting the Territory’s growing leadership in disease surveillance, outbreak investigations, environmental health, and public health informatics.

“Strong public health begins with strong data,” said Health Commissioner Justa Encarnacion. “Every day, our epidemiologists work behind the scenes to identify health threats before they become larger problems. By investing in modern technology, scientific research, and highly skilled public health professionals, we are strengthening our ability to protect the people of the Virgin Islands today while preparing for the health challenges of tomorrow.”

Among the Department’s most significant accomplishments is the modernization of the Territory’s disease surveillance system — a critical investment that allows public health officials to detect, monitor, and respond to health threats more quickly and efficiently.

The upgraded system enables the Epidemiology Division to receive and process disease reports from hospitals, laboratories, and healthcare providers more rapidly, improving the Department’s ability to identify outbreaks, monitor disease trends, and support timely public health action.

The modernization effort recently received national recognition through publication in the peer-reviewed journal JMIR Medical Informatics. The article documents the Department’s implementation of the National Electronic Disease Surveillance System Base System (NBS 7), making the Virgin Islands one of the first jurisdictions in the nation to deploy the latest CDC-supported surveillance platform and the first to implement the system using Amazon Web Services cloud technology.

According to Dr. Esther Ellis, Territorial Epidemiologist, who leads the Department’s Epidemiology Division, the upgraded system improves the speed and reliability of disease reporting, strengthens communication with healthcare providers and laboratories, enhances local control over public health data, and supports faster decision-making during disease outbreaks and other public health emergencies.

“This modernization effort represents years of collaboration and innovation,” said Dr. Ellis, who co-authored the publication. “It strengthens our ability to monitor diseases, identify emerging health threats, and provide public health leaders with the information they need to make timely, evidence-based decisions that protect our communities.”

The Department’s growing body of scientific research extends well beyond disease surveillance. Recent peer-reviewed publications by the Epidemiology Division also include:

• An investigation of Legionnaires’ disease outbreaks associated with two U.S. Virgin Islands hotels that helped strengthen environmental health response and disease prevention efforts, published in the prestigious journal, MMWR.

• A groundbreaking wastewater surveillance study examining cocaine, fentanyl, methamphetamine, amphetamine, xylazine, and nicotine across the Territory, providing valuable information to better understand substance use trends and support public health planning.

• A collaborative study of bat populations in the U.S. Virgin Islands, which found no evidence of rabies virus exposure and contributes important scientific knowledge about wildlife and public health in the Caribbean.

Together, these publications demonstrate the Department of Health’s commitment not only to protecting the health of residents, but also to contributing meaningful scientific knowledge that benefits public health agencies across the United States.

Commissioner Encarnacion said the Department’s research efforts reflect its commitment to improving the health of Virgin Islanders through science, innovation, and public service.

“We often measure success by the services we provide to the community,” she said. “But success is also about the knowledge we gain and how we use it. Every study we conduct, and every new approach we develop helps us better understand the challenges we face and strengthens our ability to protect the people of the Virgin Islands. I am incredibly proud of our Epidemiology Division for earning national recognition while doing work that directly benefits our community.”

The Department is continuing to invest in research and advancing initiatives focused on public health informatics, disease surveillance, emergency preparedness, and data modernization. These efforts will help strengthen public health programs, improve decision-making, and better serve the people of the Virgin Islands.

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