Enhanced Public Health Surveillance Activities in Miami-Dade County for Super Bowl XLI

Purpose To identify unusual patterns of communicable diseases, health events or bioterrorism-related activity in Miami-Dade County immediately before, during and after Super Bowl XLI. Methods A large event such as the Super Bowl that attracts over 120,000 visitors within a short period of time has the potential to increase the risk of diseases and environmental hazards in addition to the possibility of a bioterrorist attack. Additional public health measures were implemented to ensure the health and safety of all residents and visitors. Miami-Dade County Health Department (MDCHD) utilized four different surveillance systems, which included Biological Warning and Incident Characterization (BWIC), the Electronic Surveillance System for the Early Notification of Community Based Epidemics (ESSENCE), Miami-Dade Fire Rescue 911 Call Center data and school absenteeism data received from the Miami-Dade Public School System. Results BioWatch air samplers collected were all non-reactive and therefore BWIC was not used in project mode. The total ED visits progressively increased each of the 4 days after the Super Bowl and ESSENCE detected a significant increase of cases with Respiratory Syndrome lasting 8 days. Historically, respiratory alerts have lasted a maximum of 5 days. Both ESSENCE and 911 data detected an increase of 3 standard deviations above the mean in motor vehicle accidents. Notably, 25% of all 911 calls on the day of the Super Bowl were made from Dolphin Stadium. Finally, 89 of the 392 public schools had above 8% absenteeism on the day after the Super Bowl, which is a 78% increase from the mean number of schools with that percentage of absenteeism. Conclusion Although no disease outbreak or bioterrorism event was detected, the Super Bowl had a public health impact. By utilizing all of the available surveillance resources, MDCHD will use this information to optimize planning for future events and contribute to preventive interventions aimed at reducing the impact that large public gathering events have on the community.