What is EcSS+?
Supported by the generous donation from the S.H. Ho Foundation, the S.H. Ho Research Centre for Infectious Diseases of the Chinese University of Hong Kong has launched the E-community surveillance system “EcSS+” in 2025, functioning as a community hub for monitoring respiratory infections in the post-COVID era. Based on a participatory design, EcSS+ has received support from more than 2000 domestic households who provide regular inputs to the system. Through regular structured surveys, EcSS+ members are asked to report communal activities leading to possible exposure to respiratory pathogens. Upon the presentation of influenza-like symptoms, they are also invited to undergo rapid testing, the results of which shall reflect the respiratory infection burden in the community. Periodically, the collected data are analysed to assess the community risk of respiratory infections and its seasonal variations. To promote bidirectional engagement and information sharing, the disease trend are also disseminated back to the community members through interactive dashboards. Accordingly, tips on disease prevention are also generated to enhance vigilance of the general public against respiratory infection outbreaks. Harnessing the power of community, EcSS+ serves to alert the population of the ongoing respiratory disease threats and provide policymakers with evidence-based insights into the development of prevention and control strategy against respiratory infection outbreaks.
Project Background
Between 2020 and 2025, the COVID-19 outbreaks have caused a cumulative total of over 0.7 billion cases, with over 7 million deaths. After the end of COVID-19 pandemic, the pattern of respiratory infections has changed substantially and there are significant geographical and temporal variations. Different from the pre-COVID-19 era, the epidemiologic patterns and seasonality of respiratory infections today is far from clear, as various respiratory pathogens had re-emerged in the lack of population immunity during the COVID-19 years. Public health surveillance plays a crucial role in the development of strategies for the prevention and control of respiratory epidemics. Defined as the ongoing systematic collection, analysis, interpretation and timely dissemination of relevant data, public health surveillance is normally laboratory or health services-based. In recent years, the growth of digital technologies has enabled the implementation of surveillance that effectively captures respiratory syndrome signals, notably influenza-like illnesses (ILI) in the community. With the wider availability of rapid testing for different pathogens, the diagnostic markers in the population can also be collected timely by relevant stakeholders. Against these backgrounds, “EcSS+” was established in 2025 and positioned as a community-based surveillance platform in Hong Kong.