Dubai Health Authority Introduces AI-Based Early Warning System For Infectious Diseases At GITEX Global 2024

The Dubai Health Authority (DHA) introduced the "Enthar" early warning system at GITEX Global 2024. This system uses advanced artificial intelligence (AI) to detect infectious diseases. It aims to enhance epidemic prevention and maintain public health security in Dubai. The system supports health monitoring teams, risk assessment units, and inspectors at sea and land borders.

"Enthar" is part of DHA's continuous efforts to monitor and detect infectious diseases and potential epidemics proactively. It provides comprehensive risk assessments of these threats to Dubai. By using AI for precise data analysis and global health risk evaluations, the system improves DHA's ability to address public health challenges effectively.

Dr. Ramadan Ibrahim Al Blooshi, Advisor to the Director-General of DHA, emphasised the strategic importance of this system for enhancing health security in Dubai. He highlighted DHA’s dedication to integrating cutting-edge global technologies to combat health threats, improve epidemic surveillance systems, and optimise critical information use. This approach enables quick decision-making and effective preventive measures during health emergencies.

Dr. Al Blooshi also detailed the system’s advanced capabilities, which include analysing multilingual and open-source data such as public health information, official records, and global epidemic monitoring. "Enthar" offers real-time alerts on infectious diseases, monitors media articles and health risks, and provides regular reports compiled by epidemiologists worldwide. These features strengthen crisis response mechanisms during health emergencies.

Dr. Khaled Lootah from DHA’s Public Health Protection department explained that "Enthar" includes sophisticated risk analysis tools for proactive monitoring of health threats. These tools evaluate disease characteristics, historical activity, expected seasonal burdens, media-based surveillance, and both historical and predicted air travel data. Environmental factors and other risk variables are also considered in the analysis.

The AI-powered system excels at processing large volumes of information by continuously monitoring and analysing data through direct access to application programming interfaces (APIs). Additionally, "Enthar" features advanced functionalities like query capabilities (Beta), CSV data export, and multilingual, multi-source data analysis for delivering accurate periodic reports.

This initiative underscores DHA's commitment to employing innovative technologies for public health protection in Dubai. By leveraging AI-driven solutions like "Enthar," DHA aims to stay ahead in managing public health challenges efficiently.

With inputs from WAM