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Although the terms are often used interchangeably, surveillance refers to observing a herd for signs of arrival of a disease, while monitoring refers to detecting new cases for the purpose of mapping and predicting the spread of a disease. A system of animal disease surveillance and monitoring is a means of evaluating the state of health of a population and at the same time preventing or limiting disease spread. System structure and strategy vary depending on the exact purpose of the surveillance and monitoring and generally falls into one of three categories: 1) Conventional, based on data obtained from laboratory tests carried out by experts; 2) Syndromic, based on the analysis of clinical signs or related information associated with a disease; 3) Futuristic, based on analysis of data obtained from electronic chips.