The process of accumulating information about the incidence and prevalence of disease in a particular area.
Monitoring, close observation; in epidemiology, refers to ongoing determination of the presence and severity of various diseases, usually done by the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta. In immunology, the concept that the immune system routinely monitors the body for foreign materials and abnormal cells; when recognized, they are destroyed. Some theories hold that cancer develops due to a failure in the immune surveillance system.
In health care, the monitoring of a disease, condition, epidemic, risk factor, or physiological function.
In the field of epidemiology, the surveillance and documentation of instances of communicable diseases with the aim of identifying patterns in their transmission, thereby preventing or reducing the occurrence of epidemics and pandemics.