Methods & About
Evidence you can trace back to its source
GIDS organizes infectious disease surveillance records published by public health authorities, making them easier to find, understand, and verify while preserving the context of the original reports.
Project & maintainer
What began as a record at home grew into a global surveillance project
GIDS did not begin with a complete roadmap. In 2021, I simply wanted to preserve surveillance data that kept changing and disappearing into scattered webpages and spreadsheets. That personal archive gradually became the public project I still maintain today.
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It started with a personal need
When COVID-19 forced me to study remotely from home, I began organizing China's monthly notifiable infectious disease reports so that each release would not disappear into another webpage or spreadsheet.
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The archive became part of the research
Several years of accumulation supported research with my collaborators on changes in 24 notifiable infectious diseases in China before and during COVID-19.
Read the 2024 paper -
The same approach moved beyond China
The project began expanding globally. This meant more than adding country pages: it required understanding different reporting systems while keeping the original context of every source visible.
- Current
Making a personal project sustainable
With help from Codex, I continue to add sources and reshape the collection, standardization, checking, and publication workflows.
Maintainer
Kangguo Li
Doctoral researcher, School of Public Health, Xiamen University
I am pursuing a doctorate in Epidemiology and Health Statistics and expect to graduate in 2027. GIDS is not only a portfolio project for me; it is a long-running way to practice putting public health questions, real-world data, software engineering, and reviewable evidence together.
- Epidemiology
- Health statistics
- Real-world research
- Health data
- Data engineering
- Health AI
Sincerely seeking internships and future roles
I am actively seeking an internship now and looking ahead to long-term work after my doctorate. If your team can offer me the opportunity to contribute to real projects, keep learning, and take responsibility, I would be genuinely glad to explore it—whether with a pharmaceutical or biotechnology company or a research institute.
Now · Internships
I sincerely welcome internship opportunities with pharmaceutical or biotechnology companies and research institutes. Epidemiology, health statistics, real-world research, health-data platforms, and health AI are the areas I know best and hope to deepen, but I am also open to roles with different titles or responsibilities when my skills could be useful. I am ready to learn quickly and contribute with care.
After the PhD · Long-term roles
After completing my doctorate in 2027, I would be glad to build a long-term career in a pharmaceutical or biotechnology company or a research institute. I will also seriously consider postdoctoral opportunities where the research and team are a good fit. I would especially value an internship that could grow into a longer collaboration.
I know that degrees and project experience are only a starting point; trust is earned through the work itself. I am willing to begin with foundational, detailed tasks, respect the team's established methods and pace, and deliver reliably and on time. I will actively learn when something is new to me and be honest about the limits of my current experience. Whether you have a formal role, an internship opening, or simply would like to discuss a possible collaboration, I would be grateful to hear from you. I read every message carefully and will reply as soon as I can. Internship timing and format are flexible; I can work remotely worldwide or on site in mainland China or Hong Kong.
Data & methods
How data reaches the site
Only public records that pass basic provenance, completeness, and consistency checks are published. These figures describe the current snapshot, not the full global burden of infectious disease.
- 01
Collect
Retrieve newly published records from configured official health authority sources.
- 02
Standardize
Align disease names, places, dates, and measures while preserving the original reporting grain.
- 03
Check
Review completeness, consistency, provenance, and publication conditions before release.
- 04
Publish
Refresh pages and downloads while retaining source links, limitations, and correction routes.
Official sources
Each dataset retains the responsible authority, source link, and coverage period.
Context stays visible
Reporting systems are not assumed to be directly comparable; original definitions and temporal grain remain visible.
Missing is not zero
Unavailable fields and unreported periods remain missing rather than being silently converted to zero.
Responsible use
How to use GIDS responsibly
These data support surveillance, research, and evidence navigation, but should not be interpreted outside the context of the original reporting system.
Not a clinical or outbreak declaration tool
GIDS does not replace guidance from national or local health authorities and should not be used for personal diagnosis or risk decisions.
Figures change and systems differ
Case definitions, covered populations, reporting delays, and temporal grain vary. Read the source notes before making cross-jurisdiction comparisons.
Automation needs public correction routes
Collection, standardization, and parts of summarization are software-assisted. Reports should include the page, period, and official comparison source.
Independence and reuse
GIDS is an independent public-interest project and does not represent linked institutions. Code, public data products, and third-party sources follow their separately stated rules.
Acknowledgements
Acknowledgements and Support
GIDS has benefited from the intellectual guidance, collegial feedback, and practical support of colleagues and mentors. The author gratefully acknowledges the following individuals for their contributions to the development of this project.
Tianmu Chen
School of Public Health, Xiamen University
Provided both thoughtful advice and financial support, enabling the project to continue its development and maintenance.
- Academic Advice
- Financial Support
Benjamin Rader
Harvard Medical School; Boston Children's Hospital
Provided valuable comments on the site's structure, content organisation, and overall presentation.
- Academic Advice
This acknowledgement record will be maintained and expanded as the project continues to develop.