Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the importance of quickly detecting and responding to public health threats became more urgent than ever. Disease surveillance is a critical tool for better understanding when, where, and how an outbreak occurs.
Supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and in collaboration with the Kenya Ministry of Health, ICAP in Kenya developed a novel digital tool called ADaM, the All-Disease Outbreak Module. ADaM is an electronic disease surveillance and response platform that offers real-time case investigation, contact tracing, and early identification and management of diseases.
ADaM was first tested in February 2024 during a Rift Valley Fever (RVF) outbreak in Marsabit County, Kenya. A virus carried by mosquitos, RVF can be contracted through contact with blood, bodily fluids, or tissues of infected animals, as well as through bites from infected mosquitoes. Implementation of ADaM helped identify and investigate more than 50 cases to which county emergency operations personnel responded. ADaM’s geospatial mapping capabilities and real-time data collection enabled the ministry’s surveillance personnel to visualize the spread pattern and identify high-risk areas, catalyzing targeted risk communication and community engagement efforts. Community health workers were deployed for public awareness campaigns in affected villages, reducing the potential for new infections.
“The management of data during the COVID-19 pandemic was challenging due to the use of several disparate field data collection tools, gaps in lab results, and the lack of timely data for decision making,” said Doris Naitore, MPH, country representative for ICAP in Kenya. “ADaM is an integrated data collection tool that helps solve those problems by enabling contact tracing, laboratory results, location data, aggregated dashboards for efficient public health response, and beyond, all of which can be made available on any computer, tablet, or phone device with or without access to the Internet.”
The ADaM platform has also proved to be invaluable amid Kenya’s 2024-25 mpox outbreak. With the country’s multiple porous points of entry and extensive transit corridors, Kenya has observed numerous imported mpox cases. The country’s designated rapid response team uses ADaM to conduct active case searches, investigations, and contact tracing in high-risk counties within the country. As of February 18, 2025, 143 mpox cases had been tracked using the tool and 43 had been confirmed. With comprehensive contact tracing and location mapping capabilities, ADaM helps the ministry identify potential exposure sites and high-risk contacts combined with broader surveillance insights from other ICAP-developed tools such as the Surveillance Health Information Exchange Data Linkage (SHIELD) module – a comprehensive central hub that hosts a variety of disease surveillance data collection tools – to help improve outbreak management.
ADaM mpox dashboard
“The platform has served Kenya well in transforming our outbreak response capabilities,” said Ahmed Fidhow, disease surveillance and response unit lead for the Kenya Ministry of Health. “ADaM has enabled the Division of Disease Surveillance and Response to develop a fast, data-driven, and coordinated outbreak response strategy in a world where a second of time passing can make a big difference.”
The Ministry of Health’s Division of Disease Surveillance and Response has adopted ADaM as its sole tool for outbreak tracking, fit to respond to any priority disease and prepare Kenya for any future public health threat.
ICAP has trained over 450 ministry staff across 16 counties on use of ADaM, with plans to expand training to more counties through collaboration with other implementing partners by the end of 2025. The comprehensive training program includes case investigation, contact tracing, and data analysis techniques.
About ICAP
A major global health organization that has been improving public health in countries around the world for two decades, ICAP works to transform the health of populations through innovation, science, and global collaboration. Based at Columbia Mailman School of Public Health, ICAP has projects in more than 40 countries, working side-by-side with ministries of health and local governmental, non-governmental, academic, and community partners to confront some of the world’s greatest health challenges. Through evidence-informed programs, meaningful research, tailored technical assistance, effective training and education programs, and rigorous surveillance to measure and evaluate the impact of public health interventions, ICAP aims to realize a global vision of healthy people, empowered communities, and thriving societies. Online at icap.columbia.edu
