The internet and the global monitoring of emerging diseases: lessons from the first 10 years of ProMED-mail.

Now in its eleventh year, ProMED-mail is a robust and sensitive mechanism for the discovery of emerging disease outbreaks involving humans, animals, and plants around the world and for rapid dissemination of information. Fast reporting translates into quicker arrival of prevention and control assistance from other countries, better advance warning to neighboring countries and intending travelers, and other benefits to public health such as heightened awareness of health workers to the threat, time to prepare countermeasures and to react in an appropriate manner rather than a reflex emergency response.