The Associated Press reports that Allegheny County Health Department hopes to have a system in place later this year that would alert the public to disease outbreaks, from food poisoning outbreaks to biological attacks.

The system would publicize alerts immediately, not days or weeks after they happen.

The University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health is already working with the county health department to develop a computer system to issue real-time alerts when area hospitals have an increase in asthma-related cases. That system will be used to help the department issue pollution-related alerts, but health officials believe it can be modified to issue alerts about a variety of other illnesses.