What is the difference between active and passive surveillance in infection control?

Active surveillance involves proactive efforts to find and monitor cases of infection. This means that public health officials or infection control practitioners actively seek out cases through methods such as regular reviews of patient records, follow-up with healthcare providers, and even outreach to affected individuals. The goal of active surveillance is to identify and report infections comprehensively and in a timely manner, which helps in understanding disease patterns and responding appropriately.

In contrast, passive surveillance relies on reports of infections as they occur, depending on healthcare professionals, hospitals, or laboratories to report cases without the same level of initiative from the surveillance system. It is more of a "wait and see" approach, where data is collected based on what providers choose to report or what comes through regular channels.

This distinction is vital, as active surveillance tends to provide more comprehensive data compared to passive surveillance, which can result in underreporting of disease incidence due to reliance on the variability of reporting by healthcare facilities. Therefore, understanding these fundamental differences is critical for effective infection control strategies.