2008 Volume 12 Issue 1 Pages 23-24
Evaluation of surveillance results is important to estimate the risk of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) outbreaks in a country. However, no evaluation method focusing on surveillance from a qualitative perspective has yet been developed. Here, we developed a method to evaluate the qualitative aspects of BSE surveillance based on the Analytic Hierarchy Process. Using the Analytic Hierarchy Process, a qualitative issue can be evaluated through standardised criteria with point values based on the opinions from evaluators. Factors relating to surveillance reliability were selected through expert meetings, and were arranged in a hierarchy. These hierarchic evaluation factors were also weighed, so that a point system could be used for evaluation. When the surveillance in Japan before and after a BSE outbreak was evaluated using this evaluation system, an improvement in the quality of the surveillance was observed after the outbreak. We believe that this method will be applicable to establishing a qualitative evaluation system for other diseases.
