There is a need for a rapid and reliable test to predict dengue so that the patients are managed and monitored. Beckman Coulter LH series instruments provide data on leukocyte cell volume, V; conductivity, C; and light scatter, S which is useful in distinguishing viral and bacterial infections. This prospective study was undertaken in Chennai - India for a period of one and a half years. The cell population data for the dengue positive and negative patients were retrieved from the hematology analyzer Beckman Coulter LH780. Statistical analysis was performed using MedCalc for Windows version 15.0. Mann-Whitney test was used to compare the VCS indices between the different groups. Dengue positive, suspected and controls were 499, 493, 499 respectively. Male: female ratio is 1.4:1. The platelet count, standard deviation of volume and conductivity of monocytes, volume and percentage of lymphocytes and platelet counts were used to construct a tree model which distinguishes dengue from suspected cases with sensitivity, specificity and efficiency of 94.84%, 77.88% and 89.59% respectively. A classification tree was developed using changes in monocytes, lymphocytes and lymphocyte and platelet counts.

The largest outbreak to date was the epidemic in West Africa, which occurred from December 2013 to January 2016 with 28,616 cases and 11,310 deaths. The aim of this work was to assess by a systematic literature review the impact of surveillance in health systems of Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria in combating Ebola Virus Disease outbreaks. Specific objectives include identifying the strength of their surveillance systems and exploring the impacts of surveillance on the containment of Ebola virus disease in the region. The PRISMA procedure was used in carrying out the study. The SPIDER tool was chosen and modified to establish the research question. Five databases were searched in this study viz., the Cochrane librarycentral, Medline, Google Scholar, PsycINFO and a grey literature called Open grey. Studies were critically analyzed and assessed using the Crowe critical appraisal Tool (CCAT). The search strategy generated a total of 30 articles, out of which 6 articles (5 studies and 1 report) were selected for data extraction. The need for professionalism and competence cannot be overemphasized in the healthcare and surveillance systems of West African countries, especially the ones under study.