The National Library of Medicine currently publishes on its website a relational database of occupational toxicology called Haz-Map®. See http://hazmap.nlm.nih.gov/. Haz-Map is an example of an "intelligent database" that stores information for easy retrieval and decision support, and it shows the usefulness of mapping a complex knowledge domain using interrelated tables and a controlled vocabulary.

The author of Haz-Map has developed a new intelligent database called OutbreakID®. OutbreakID is designed to give health professionals quick access to comprehensive information about outbreaks--acute syndromes that appear suddenly in a group of people either because of intentional use (bioterrorism and chemical warfare), work-related exposures to chemical and biological agents, or other infectious diseases.

The user could query the database of 201 diseases to find all those that matched:

	one of 17 syndromes, e.g., fever and rash;
	or that matched one or more of 137 findings, e.g., cough;
	or that matched one of 112 activities, e.g., bitten by a tick;
	or one of 102 jobs, e.g., farmer.

By systematically classifying and indexing all available information useful for recognizing outbreaks, OutbreakID enables "zooming in" to the facts needed. Health professionals could use the database to learn the information-intensive fields of bioterrorism, occupational toxicology, and emerging infectious diseases and to participate in a surveillance system for the early detection of outbreaks.