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  1. Case Definitions/

Open Syndrome Suspected Plague

Authors: Dirección General de Epidemiología, Peru Ministry of Health

Location: Peru

Purpose #

Case definition for suspected plague

The definition #

Paciente con presentación clínica compatible, y con antecedentes epidemiológicos consistentes de: • Exposición a humanos o animales infectados, y/o • Evidencia de picaduras de pulgas, y/o • Residencia o viaje a un área endémica conocida, dentro de los 10 días previos.

Machine-readable definition #

The definition is available in JSON format following the Open Syndrome v1.0 specification:

{
   "authors": [
     "Dirección General de Epidemiología"
   ],
   "category": "suspected",
   "definition_type": "case_definition",
   "description": "Case definition for suspected plague",
   "human_readable_definition": "Paciente con presentación clínica compatible, y con antecedentes\nepidemiológicos consistentes de:\n• Exposición a humanos o animales infectados, y/o\n• Evidencia de picaduras de pulgas, y/o\n• Residencia o viaje a un área endémica conocida, dentro de los 10 días\nprevios.",
   "inclusion_criteria": [
     {
       "logical_operator": "AND",
       "type": "criterion",
       "values": [
         {
           "name": "Clinical presentation compatible with plague",
           "type": "symptom"
         },
         {
           "logical_operator": "AT_LEAST",
           "logical_operator_arguments": [
             1
           ],
           "name": "History of exposure to infected humans or animals",
           "type": "criterion",
           "values": [
             {
               "name": "Exposure to infected humans or animals",
               "type": "epidemiological_history"
             },
             {
               "description": "Indicates presence of fleas on the patient",
               "name": "Evidence of flea bites",
               "type": "professional_judgment"
             },
             {
               "name": "Residence or travel to an endemic area, within the 10 days prior",
               "type": "epidemiological_history"
             }
           ]
         }
       ]
     }
   ],
   "keywords": [
     "Plague",
     "South America"
   ],
   "language": "English",
   "location": "Peru",
   "open_syndrome_version": "1.0.0",
   "organization": "Peru Ministry of Health",
   "published_at": "2011-01-01T12:00:00Z",
   "published_by": [
     "Open Syndrome Initiative"
   ],
   "published_in": "https://opensyndrome.org",
   "references": [
     {
       "url": "http://bvs.minsa.gob.pe/local/MINSA/3255.pdf"
     }
   ],
   "scope": "specific",
   "status": "draft",
   "target_public_health_threats": [
     "Plague"
   ],
   "title": "Open Syndrome Suspected Plague",
   "version": "1.0.0"
 }

Using the Definition #

Healthcare organizations can implement this definition through:

  • Direct integration with surveillance systems
  • API endpoints for real-time validation
  • Manual case verification processes

Next Steps #

We encourage:

  • Clinical feedback on the definition criteria
  • Technical feedback on the implementation format
  • Suggestions for additional symptoms or signs
  • Reports of implementation experiences

Get Involved #

We welcome contributions and feedback from the community.