Reducing the impact of emerging infections through data sharing

Data sharing has the potential to shift the paradigm of outbreak response in the public health, clinical and scientific communities. Increasing access to more data can address some of the key challenges of the limited, fragmented, poor quality data, which characterise emerging infections. To achieve this, we must design well-governed, equitable, collaborative data sharing models driven by the questions relevant to those directly affected, and ensure that the benefits of sharing are returned to them. We must also implement methodologies that maximize the usability of data to generate evidence