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Editor, Senior Moderator
Epidemiology Research International
Volume 2011 (2011), Article ID 381597, 6 pages
doi:10.1155/2011/381597Research ArticleThe United Kingdom 2009 Swine Flu Outbreak As Recorded in
Real Time by General PractitionersHershel Jick,1 Dean S. MacLaughlin,1 Pascal Egger,2 and Peter Wiggins31Boston Collaborative Drug Surveillance Program, Boston University School of Medicine, 11 Muzzey Street, Lexington, MA 02421, USA
2Basel Pharmacoepidemiology Unit, Division of Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology, University Hospital, Spitalsstrasse 26, 4031 Basel, Switzerland
3Castlemilk Group Practice, Dougrie Drive, Glasgow G45 9AW, UKReceived 4 May 2011; Accepted 16 June 2011Academic Editor: Huibert Burger Copyright ? 2011 Hershel Jick et al.
Background.
Initially the course of the 2009 swine flu pandemic was uncertain and impossible to predict with any confidence.
An effective prospective data resource exists in the United Kingdom
(UK) that could have been utilized to describe the scope and extent of
the swine flu outbreak as it unfolded. We describe the 2009 swine flu
outbreak in the UK as recorded daily by general practitioners and the
potential use of this database for real-time tracking of flu
outbreaks. Methods. Using the General Practice
Research Database, a real-time general practice, electronic database,
we estimated influenza incidence from July 1998 to September 2009
according to age, region, and calendar time. Results.
From 1998 to2008, influenza outbreaks regularly occurred yearly from
October to March, but did not typically occur from April to September
until the swine flu outbreak began in April 2009. The weekly incidence
rose gradually, peaking at the end of July, and the outbreak had
largely dissipated by early September.
Conclusions.
The UK swine flu outbreak, recorded in real time by a large
group of general practitioners, was mild and limited in time.
Simultaneous online access seemed feasible and could have provided additional clinical-based evidence at an early planning stage of the outbreak.
full text
http://www.hindawi.com/journals/eri/2011/381597/
Volume 2011 (2011), Article ID 381597, 6 pages
doi:10.1155/2011/381597Research ArticleThe United Kingdom 2009 Swine Flu Outbreak As Recorded in
Real Time by General PractitionersHershel Jick,1 Dean S. MacLaughlin,1 Pascal Egger,2 and Peter Wiggins31Boston Collaborative Drug Surveillance Program, Boston University School of Medicine, 11 Muzzey Street, Lexington, MA 02421, USA
2Basel Pharmacoepidemiology Unit, Division of Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology, University Hospital, Spitalsstrasse 26, 4031 Basel, Switzerland
3Castlemilk Group Practice, Dougrie Drive, Glasgow G45 9AW, UKReceived 4 May 2011; Accepted 16 June 2011Academic Editor: Huibert Burger Copyright ? 2011 Hershel Jick et al.
Background.
Initially the course of the 2009 swine flu pandemic was uncertain and impossible to predict with any confidence.
An effective prospective data resource exists in the United Kingdom
(UK) that could have been utilized to describe the scope and extent of
the swine flu outbreak as it unfolded. We describe the 2009 swine flu
outbreak in the UK as recorded daily by general practitioners and the
potential use of this database for real-time tracking of flu
outbreaks. Methods. Using the General Practice
Research Database, a real-time general practice, electronic database,
we estimated influenza incidence from July 1998 to September 2009
according to age, region, and calendar time. Results.
From 1998 to2008, influenza outbreaks regularly occurred yearly from
October to March, but did not typically occur from April to September
until the swine flu outbreak began in April 2009. The weekly incidence
rose gradually, peaking at the end of July, and the outbreak had
largely dissipated by early September.
Conclusions.
The UK swine flu outbreak, recorded in real time by a large
group of general practitioners, was mild and limited in time.
Simultaneous online access seemed feasible and could have provided additional clinical-based evidence at an early planning stage of the outbreak.
full text
http://www.hindawi.com/journals/eri/2011/381597/