3. An apparatus for managing phases of a public health event, the apparatus including one or more suitably programmed computing devices, the apparatus comprising: an interface configured to receive structured and unstructured data from one or more external data sources and further comprising: a data transformation module that transforms data from the structured and unstructured data sources into a schema consistent with a schema of the apparatus, and a data classification module that extracts meta-data related to the structured and unstructured data and creates an index of the meta-data back to the meta data's structured or unstructured data; a data store coupled to the interface, wherein the indexed meta-data and the structured and unstructured data are stored; a processing component coupled to the interface, comprising: an analysis module configured to analyze the meta-data in relation to one or more thresholds and to trigger transmission of a public health alert by an alert module; and access modules configured to provide real-time user access to the structured and unstructured data, and to the corresponding meta-data for pre-planning, identification, detection, and response to the public health event.
3. An apparatus for managing phases of a public health event, the apparatus including one or more suitably programmed computing devices, the apparatus comprising: an interface configured to receive structured and unstructured data from one or more external data sources and further comprising: a data transformation module that transforms data from the structured and unstructured data sources into a schema consistent with a schema of the apparatus, and a data classification module that extracts meta-data related to the structured and unstructured data and creates an index of the meta-data back to the meta data's structured or unstructured data; a data store coupled to the interface, wherein the indexed meta-data and the structured and unstructured data are stored; a processing component coupled to the interface, comprising: an analysis module configured to analyze the meta-data in relation to one or more thresholds and to trigger transmission of a public health alert by an alert module; and access modules configured to provide real-time user access to the structured and unstructured data, and to the corresponding meta-data for pre-planning, identification, detection, and response to the public health event. 9. The apparatus of claim 3 , further comprising a virtual meeting room, wherein analysis of the public health event-related data are displayed and information related to the public health event are received from users of the apparatus.