The Texas Association of Local Health Officials (TALHO) started a syndromic surveillance system that was intended to be a statewide system. When that organization went defunct, DSHS contracted with Houston Health Department to maintain the former TALHO system until a new system could be stood up. Houston Health Department maintained the former TALHO system until August 31, 2016, and DSHS assumed maintenance of this system on September 1, 2016. Data providers that submitted data to the former TALHO system transitioned off this system to the TxS2 system. If you were submitting to TALHO and do not know if you are submitting to TxS2, please email Syndromic.Surveillance@dshs.texas.gov.
The North Texas Syndromic Surveillance System (NTXSS) hosted by Tarrant County Public Health covers syndromic surveillance activities for Public Health Region (PHR) 2/3. Similarly, Houston Health Department operates a system that covers syndromic surveillance activities for PHR 6/5S.
The model for TxS2 is that data providers located in PHR 2/3 connect to the NTXSS and data providers located in PHR 6/5S connect to the system operated by Houston Health Department. These two systems then feed all their data into the TxS2 system. All other data providers statewide, including those submitting data to the former TALHO system, connect directly to TxS2 through DSHS.
Users in PHR 2/3 and PHR 6/5S can access data for their regions through the NTXSS and Houston Health Department systems, respectively. These users can also gain access to aggregate statewide data through TxS2. Users outside PHR 2/3 and PHR 6/5S can view data for their respective region as well as aggregate statewide data through the TxS2 system.
DSHS staff (central office and PHRs 2/3 and 6/5S) maintain a collaboration with Tarrant County Public Health and Houston Health Department to ensure success for the TxS2 system. More information about this collaboration can be found under Policies and Procedures.