IBM created the Web-based program to allow public-health organizations to quickly report, share and act on medical information across borders. The three countries will use it first to track cases of salmonella, shigella and avian influenza, James Kaufman, a researcher on the project, said in an interview.
The three countries share a common waterway, the Jordan River, which makes tracking of food-borne illness critical, Kaufman said. The countries plan to eventually use the database to monitor other infectious diseases.
``Over the course of this project there have been wars and terrorist attacks, but the public-health officials have persisted,'' Kaufman said. ``This technology automates critical information sharing, letting medical professionals protect the population's health and well-being, and helping shield economies against emerging threats to public health.''
The system relies on technology IBM developed to create a prototype health-information network for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, he said. The U.S. didn't go ahead with the project.
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