Integration of Sentinel Systems

The connection of ARS to DEMIS also enables participation in pathogen-specific sentinel systems via the interface presented here, as the same resources and terminology are used for pathogen-specific sentinel systems.

Currently, the chlamydia and measles sentinel systems are included in this FHIR interface. In addition to mapping microbiological diagnostics for chlamydia and measles, sentinel-specific variables or characteristics are defined in the form of pathogen-specific value sets.

Chlamydia Sentinel

The Chlamydia Sentinel is primarily intended to manage measures to detect chlamydia in high-risk groups in accordance with the "Strategy for the Control of HIV, Hepatitis B and C and Other Sexually Transmitted Infections, BIS-2030 – Needs-Based, Integrated, Cross-Sectoral" of the German Federal Ministry of Health and the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development. The goal of chlamydia surveillance is to analyze access to testing for sexually transmitted infections and, where necessary, improve it. This includes coverage of implemented screening services (e.g., screening for women under 25 years of age, screening during pregnancy, screening for HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis) as well as event-related testing, such as symptom-related testing or testing during gynecological procedures.

The following sentinel-specific variables and variables are defined for the Chlamydia Sentinel:

• Patient's place of residence in the form of a 3-digit zip code
• Patient's insurance status
• Request for Chlamydia diagnosis

These variables are only required for Chlamydia trachomatis diagnostics. If this information is provided for a pathogen other than Chlamydia trachomatis, further processing of this information will be prevented, making it unavailable for ARS at the RKI.

Measles Sentinel

The goal of the Measles Sentinel is to create a database for describing endemic measles transmission in accordance with WHO guidelines, so that if endemic transmission can be demonstrated to be hindered for three years, measles elimination status can be achieved in Germany.

Measles testing involves collecting the indication for testing, which will make it possible to distinguish between a diagnosis of acute disease, evidence of previous disease, and evidence of immunity following vaccination. This data is crucial for estimating the number of excluded cases and for assessing the quality of measles surveillance in Germany according to WHO criteria.

The following variable values ​​are defined for the Measles Sentinel:

• Request for Measles Diagnosis

This information is required exclusively for measles diagnostics. If this information is provided for a pathogen other than measles, further data processing of this information will be prevented, so that it will not be available to ARS at the RKI.