GIDEON (Global Infectious Diseases On Line) is a web-based program for decision support and informatics in the fields of Infectious Diseases and Geographic Medicine. As of 2005, more than 300 generic infectious diseases occur haphazardly in time and space; and are challenged by over 250 drugs and vaccines. 1,500 species of pathogenic bacteria, viruses, parasites and fungi have been described. Printed media can no longer follow the dynamics of diseases, outbreaks and epidemics "in real time." Although the advent of electronic media has given us unlimited information access, the search for meaningful data is confusing and time-consuming.

GIDEON consists of four modules. The first generates a Bayesian ranked differential diagnosis based on signs, symptoms, laboratory tests, country of origin and incubation period - and can be used for diagnosis support and simulation of All infectious diseases in All countries. Since the program is web-based, this module can also be adapted to disease and bioterror surveillance.

The second module follows the epidemiology of individual diseases, including their global background and status in each of 205 countries and regions. All past and current outbreaks ... of all diseases, in all countries ... are described in detail. The user may also access a list of diseases compatible with any combination of agent, vector, vehicle, reservoir and country (i.e., list all of the mosquito-borne flaviviruses of Brazil which have an avian reservoir). Over 30,000 graphs display all data, and are updated "in real time". These graphs can be used for preparation of PowerPoint displays, pamphlets, lecture notes, etc. Several thousand high-quality images are also available, including clinical lesions, roentgenograms, photomicrographs and disease life cycles.

The third module is an interactive encyclopedia which incorporates the pharmacology, usage, testing standards and global trade names of all antiinfective drugs and vaccines. The fourth module is designed to identify or characterize all species of bacteria, mycobacteria and yeasts. The data base includes 50 to 100 taxa which may not appear in standard texts and laboratory data bases for several months.

Additional options allow users to add data (in their own font / language) relevant to their own institution, electronic patient charts, material from the internet, important telephone numbers, drug prices, antimicrobial resistance patterns, etc. This form of custom data is particularly useful when running GIDEON on institutional networks. The data in GIDEON are derived from: all peer-reviewed journals in the fields of Infectious Diseases, Pediatrics, Internal Medicine, Tropical Medicine, Travel Medicine, Antimicrobial Pharmacology and Clinical Microbiology; a monthly electronic literature search based on all relevant keywords; all available health ministry reports (both printed and electronic); standard texts; and abstracts of major meetings.

Access GIDEON at http://www.GIDEONonline.com