TADinfo makes use of a number of data sources traditionally available in developing countries: reports of disease occurrences; active disease surveys; abattoir and slaughter data; livestock census; vaccination data. Data can be easily imported via a graphical user interface, and simple analysis enables a descriptive overview. In TADinfo, data are arranged in a modular fashion, many of which are seamlessly integrated.
Reports of disease events as collected by veterinary staff can be entered. The interface allows users to record a wide variety of information with only the minimum essential information being compulsory/required; each report must have a specific date, details of the species involved including numbers affected, a diagnosis (although this doesn't have to be a definitive diagnosis), and geo-referenced coordinates of the location. This geo-referencing is an important requirement for map production.
The software will also store and analyse data collected from abattoirs and slaughterhouses. These are often important sources of passive data collection.
TADinfo is designed to accept information gained from active surveillance activities including disease investigations and sero-surveillance. This is also location specific. TADinfo does not store data on an individual animal basis, but records summary data, such as for example the number of positive and negative animals from each locality.
Livestock population data can be stored and analysed.
Data related to vaccination campaigns can be stored and vaccination coverage can automatically be calculated with data from the livestock census module.
TADinfo is an extremely flexible tool and is fully customisable by each and every user. The version as supplied by FAO comes complete with maps and geographic data for the country of concern. Users then have the ability to further adapt the software and tailor it to their own requirements. This is performed through a simple user interface and does not require any particular knowledge of computer programming.