True about sentinel surveillance is: March 2011

Ans. B: Supplements routine notification Sentinel surveillance helps in supplementing notified cases (those given through routine surveillance system- passive and active) Sentinel surveillance It is the collection and analysis of data by designated institutions selected for their geographic location, medical specialty, and ability to accurately diagnose and repo high quality data. For example, district hospitals may be required to repo specific conditions such as bacterial meningitis in order to quantify the burden of disease due to Haemophilus influenzae type b. Generally, sentinel surveillance is useful for answering specific epidemiologic questions, but, because sentinel sites may not represent the general population or the general incidence of disease, they may have limited usefulness in analyzing national disease patterns and trends.