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Improving influenza surveillance in Portuguese preschool children by parents' report
Paulo Paixão1, Cátia Piedade, Ana Papoila
1CEDOC, Faculdade de Ciências Médicas, FCM, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, 1169-056, Lisboa, Portugal, paulo.paixao@fcm.unl.pt.
Insights
A novel parent-reported surveillance system effectively identified respiratory viruses, including influenza A (H3), in children. This approach complements existing national influenza surveillance programs by providing valuable real-time data.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric infectious diseases
- Virology
- Public health surveillance
Background:
- Traditional influenza surveillance relies on physician networks and hospital reports.
- Limitations exist in capturing the full spectrum of pediatric respiratory virus circulation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate a novel surveillance system utilizing parent phone reports and home sample collection.
- To identify respiratory viruses, including influenza, in children attending daycare and a hospital emergency department.
Main Methods:
- Parents contacted a research team for sample collection.
- Real-time and reverse transcription PCR were used to detect multiple respiratory viruses.
- 100 children (64 daycare, 36 hospital) were enrolled.
Main Results:
- 79 out of 100 children tested positive for at least one respiratory virus.
- Influenza A (H3) was the most prevalent virus (25 cases), particularly in children under 5.
- The parent-reported system detected more influenza cases in young children than the national program.
Conclusions:
- A parent-based surveillance system can effectively supplement the National Influenza Surveillance Programme.
- This method offers a complementary approach for monitoring pediatric respiratory virus activity.
Unlabelled:
Influenza surveillance is usually based on nationally organized sentinel networks of physicians and on hospital reports. This study aimed to test a different report system, based on parents' phone contact to the research team and in home collection of samples by a dedicated team. The identification of influenza and other respiratory viruses in children who attended a Hospital Emergency Department was also recorded. Real-time PCR and reverse transcription PCR were performed for influenza A and B, parainfluenza 1-4, adenovirus, human metapneumovirus, respiratory syncytial virus A and B, rhinovirus, enterovirus, group 1 coronaviruses, group 2 coronaviruses, and human bocavirus. One hundred children were included, 64 from the day care centers and 36 from the Hospital. Overall, 79 samples were positive for at least one respiratory virus. Influenza A (H3) was the virus most frequently detected: 25 cases, 20 of these in children under 5 years of age (ten from day care centers and ten who went to the hospital) which was higher than those reported by the National Influenza Surveillance Programme for this age.
Conclusion:
The results obtained in this study suggest that a surveillance system based on parents' reports could complement the implanted system of the National Influenza Surveillance Programme.
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