Program for Monitoring Emerging Diseases (ProMED)

[Rocky Baker]

I have had a number of requests about my post on Ebola which contained excerpts from the ProMED 
listserver.  For those of you who are  interested, here is the ProMED info.

Rocky Baker
bakerr at ucs.orst.edu




WHAT IS PROMED?
===============

ProMED - the Program for Monitoring Emerging Diseases 
=====================================================

Numerous recent episodes of emerging and re-emerging infections, including the global AIDS 
pandemic, the continuing spread of dengue viruses, the now frequent appearance of hitherto 
unrecognized diseases such as the hemorrhagic fevers, the resurgence of old scourges like 
tuberculosis and cholera in new, more severe forms, and the economic and environmental dangers 
of similar occurrences in animals and plants, attest our continuing vulnerability to infectious 
diseases throughout the world.  Many experts, both within and outside government, have warned of 
the need to improve capabilities for dealing with emerging infectious diseases, and the 
development of  an effective global infectious disease surveillance system has been the primary 
recommendation of expert analyses.

A program to identify and quickly respond to unusual outbreaks of infectious diseases in order 
to provide help to affected areas and to prevent spread is essential, not only to the region of 
origin but to the entire world.  Unfortunately, existing international structures to do this are 
understaffed and lack coordination.  The same is true for animal and plant diseases that could 
threaten food supplies and, in some cases, infect humans - some of the outbreaks that have 
attracted attention recently, such as Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, are zoonoses.

ProMED, the Program for Monitoring Emerging Diseases, was set up specifically to fill this void. 
 It was inaugurated in September 1993 at a conference in Geneva, Switzerland, co-sponsored by 
the World Health Organization and the Federation of American Scientists.  At that conference 60 
prominent experts in human, animal and plant health called for a coordinated global program to 
identify and respond to emerging infectious diseases, and to provide a forum for coordinating 
plans, with the participation of interested parties at all levels.  Members of the Steering 
Committee of ProMED come from all over the world and include representatives of WHO, CDC, NIH 
and OIE (the International Office of Epizootics, based in Paris, France), as well as other 
organizations and academic institutions.

ProMED electronic conference
============================

A central goal of ProMED is to establish a direct partnership among scientists concerned with 
infectious diseases in all parts of the world; building the appropriate networks to encourage 
communicating and sharing information is a key objective.  In cooperation with SatelLife and 
HealthNet, ProMED has inaugurated an e-mail conference system on the Internet, to encourage 
timely information sharing and discussion on emerging disease problems worldwide.  Through 
HealthNet, this low cost system reaches participants in developing countries and remote areas.

ProMED invites and welcomes the participation of all interested colleagues. 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dr. Stephen S. Morse, Chair, ProMED, The Rockefeller University, New York NY e-mail: 
morse at rockvax.rockefeller.edu
Dr. Jack Woodall, Coordinator, ProMED Communications Task Force, NYS Dept. of Health, Albany NY
e-mail: woodall at wadsworth.org
===================================END======================================

WHAT IS THE PROMED MAILING LIST?
================================

This is the mailing list for ProMED related mail which is open to the public. ProMED is an 
ongoing effort to develop a global program which will monitor new diseases as they emerge. 
Please post ProMED related articles, questions or other materials of interest to the ProMED 
medical community by sending EMAIL to:

promed at usa.healthnet.org


TO SUBSCRIBE TO PROMED
=========================

To subscribe to promed, send the following in the body (not
the subject line) of an email message to "Majordomo at usa.healthnet.org":

subscribe promed

This will subscribe the account from which you send the message to the promed list.


HOW TO LEAVE THE LIST
=====================

If you would like to be removed please send the message "unsubscribe promed" in the text of a 
message to majordomo at usa.healthnet.org.

HOW TO GET IT AT A DIFFERENT ADDRESS
====================================

To subscribe at an alternate email address, please send "subscribe promed" in the text of a 
message to majordomo at usa.healthnet.org.

TROUBLE-SHOOTING
================

If you have any problems with the majordomo interface, or would like to communicate directly 
with the list administrator, please email promed-owner at usa.healthnet.org.

HOW TO GET THE ARCHIVES
=======================

To look at the old archives of this list, please send "index promed" in the text of an email 
message to majordomo at usa.healthnet.org. This will return a message containing the directory of 
files available.
Select which files you would like to receive, and then send "get promed <filename>" where 
<filename> is the file which you would like to receive.

INFORMATION ABOUT HEALTHNET
===========================

If you would like further information about HealthNet, which connects health-related concerns in 
developing countries, please send a message to

majordomo at usa.healthnet.org

containing in the text:

info healthnet


HELP FILE
=========

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============================END OF FILE INFO PROMED============================

EXAMPLE OF USING ARCHIVE
========================

to begin, you send "index promed" in the text of a message to majordomo at usa.healthnet.org

You will receive a message containing a list of files, like this one.

-rw-rw-r--  1 majordom    22527 Sep 13 11:54 promed.archive.9408 -rw-rw----  1 majordom    55034 
Sep 29 18:27 promed.archive.9409 -rw-rw----  1 majordom    24209 Oct  5 11:12 
promed.archive.9410

To request the first file, (the messages to the ProMED list in August 1994) send the command 
"get promed promed.archive.9408" to majordomo at usa.healthnet.org.

You will receive one message containing a transcript of commands issued, and another which 
contains the August file.

MISCELLANEOUS
=============

If you have any comments, or ideas on how to make this explanation easier to understand, 
*please* send email to promed-admin at usa.healthnet.org!

If you have a signature which is appended to every message you send, please make sure it begins 
with a line starting with at least two dashes or Majordomo will attempt to interpret it as 
commands, causing errors to appear after the request you have made.

Example:

--
Alexander Fraser
SatelLife Unix System Administrator
alex at usa.healthnet.org