tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
Epidemiol Infect. 2014 Dec 4:1-9. [Epub ahead of print]
Syndromic surveillance of influenza activity in Sweden: an evaluation of three tools.
Ma T, Englund H, Bjelkmar P, Wallensten A, Hulth A.
Author information
Abstract
SUMMARY An evaluation was conducted to determine which syndromic surveillance tools complement traditional surveillance by serving as earlier indicators of influenza activity in Sweden. Web queries, medical hotline statistics, and school absenteeism data were evaluated against two traditional surveillance tools. Cross-correlation calculations utilized aggregated weekly data for all-age, nationwide activity for four influenza seasons, from 2009/2010 to 2012/2013. The surveillance tool indicative of earlier influenza activity, by way of statistical and visual evidence, was identified. The web query algorithm and medical hotline statistics performed equally well as each other and to the traditional surveillance tools. School absenteeism data were not reliable resources for influenza surveillance. Overall, the syndromic surveillance tools did not perform with enough consistency in season lead nor in earlier timing of the peak week to be considered as early indicators. They do, however, capture incident cases before they have formally entered the primary healthcare system.
PMID:
25471689
[PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25471689
Syndromic surveillance of influenza activity in Sweden: an evaluation of three tools.
Ma T, Englund H, Bjelkmar P, Wallensten A, Hulth A.
Author information
Abstract
SUMMARY An evaluation was conducted to determine which syndromic surveillance tools complement traditional surveillance by serving as earlier indicators of influenza activity in Sweden. Web queries, medical hotline statistics, and school absenteeism data were evaluated against two traditional surveillance tools. Cross-correlation calculations utilized aggregated weekly data for all-age, nationwide activity for four influenza seasons, from 2009/2010 to 2012/2013. The surveillance tool indicative of earlier influenza activity, by way of statistical and visual evidence, was identified. The web query algorithm and medical hotline statistics performed equally well as each other and to the traditional surveillance tools. School absenteeism data were not reliable resources for influenza surveillance. Overall, the syndromic surveillance tools did not perform with enough consistency in season lead nor in earlier timing of the peak week to be considered as early indicators. They do, however, capture incident cases before they have formally entered the primary healthcare system.
PMID:
25471689
[PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25471689