“Strong public health begins with strong data,” said Health Commissioner Justa Encarnacion. “This investment gives our epidemiologists better tools to identify health threats, track disease trends and respond more quickly when our communities are at risk. It also reflects the level of expertise and innovation within our Epidemiology Division. I am truly proud that the work being done here in the Virgin Islands is receiving national recognition.”

The upgraded surveillance system enables the Epidemiology Division to receive and process disease reports from hospitals, laboratories and healthcare providers more rapidly, helping public health officials identify potential outbreaks, monitor disease trends and support timely public health action.

The modernization effort was recently highlighted in the peer-reviewed journal JMIR Medical Informatics, which documented the Department’s implementation of NBS 7 and its innovative use of cloud technology to strengthen public health surveillance in the Territory.

According to Territorial Epidemiologist Dr. Esther Ellis, 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 was the senior author on the 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.”

Below: Dr. Esther Ellis, VIDOH Territorial Epidemiologist.

The surveillance system modernization is among several recent accomplishments by the Epidemiology Division that have gained national recognition through peer-reviewed scientific publications. In recent months, Division scientists and epidemiologists have contributed to research addressing disease surveillance, outbreak investigations, environmental health, substance-use monitoring and wildlife health.

Recent publications include:

• An investigation of Legionnaires’ disease outbreaks associated with two U.S. Virgin Islands hotels, which helped strengthen environmental health response and disease prevention efforts and was published in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR).

• A wastewater surveillance study examining cocaine, fentanyl, methamphetamine, amphetamine, xylazine and nicotine across the Territory, providing data that can help public health officials better understand substance-use trends and inform 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 additional scientific knowledge about wildlife and public health in the Caribbean.

Commissioner Encarnacion said the Department’s growing research portfolio demonstrates how scientific inquiry can translate into stronger public health practice.

“We often measure success by the services we provide to the community, but success is also about the knowledge we gain and how we use it,” she said. “Every study we conduct, every new approach we develop and every improvement we make to our public health system helps us better understand the challenges we face and strengthens our ability to protect the people of the Virgin Islands.”

Together, the publications demonstrate the Department’s commitment to using research, technology and data to improve public health in the Territory while contributing meaningful scientific knowledge to the broader public health community.

The Department plans to continue building on this work through investments in public health informatics, disease surveillance, emergency preparedness, research and data modernization. These efforts will strengthen public health programs, improve evidence-based decision-making and enhance the Department’s ability to respond to emerging health threats across the Virgin Islands.

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