AI Platform EPIWATCH Boosts Disease Detection in Nigeria

EPIWATCH, an AI-powered epidemic-intelligence platform, is being tested in Nigeria for infectious disease surveillance. A study published in the Journal of Medical Systems in 2026 revealed that EPIWATCH detected 112 outbreak reports in March 2024, a 315% increase compared to a median of 27 reports in March over the previous five years.

This increase was attributed to the system's ability to recognize disease-related expressions in Nigerian Pidgin English. The rise in detected signals related to diseases such as Lassa fever, meningitis, diphtheria, and yellow fever does not indicate a real increase in outbreaks but shows that improving AI surveillance systems can enhance public health signal detection.

Professor Nachamada Blamah from the University of Jos emphasized that the effectiveness of AI prediction systems relies on the quality and breadth of data available for training. He cautioned against using models developed in other countries without local datasets, as disease patterns may differ significantly.