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High-throughput Detection Method for Influenza Virus
Published on: February 4, 2012
Do family physicians make good sentinels for influenza?
J Buffington1, L E Chapman, L M Schmeltz
1Epidemic Intelligence Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA.
Objective:
To determine whether volunteer family physician reports of the frequency of influenza-like illness (ILI) usefully supplement information from other influenza surveillance systems conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Design:
Evaluation of physician reports from five influenza surveillance seasons (1987-88 through 1991-92).
Setting:
Family physician office practices in all regions of the United States.
Participants:
An average of 140 physicians during each of five influenza seasons.
Interventions:
None.
Outcome Measures:
An office visit or hospitalization of a patient for ILI, defined as presence of fever (temperature > or = 37.8 degrees C) and cough, sore throat, or myalgia, along with the physician's clinical judgment of influenza. A subset of physicians collected specimens for confirmation of influenza virus by culture.
Results:
Physicians attributed 81,408 (5%) of 1,672,542 office visits to ILI; 2754 (3%) patients with ILI were hospitalized. Persons 65 years of age and older accounted for 11% of visits for ILI and 43% of hospitalizations for ILI. In three of five seasons, physicians obtained influenza virus isolates from a greater proportion of specimens compared with those processed by World Health Organization laboratories (36% vs 12%). Influenza virus isolates from sentinel physicians peaked from 1 to 4 weeks earlier than those reported by World Health Organization laboratories. Physicians reported peak morbidity 1 to 4 weeks earlier than state and territorial health departments in four of five seasons and 2 to 5 weeks earlier than peak mortality reported by 121 cities during seasons with excess mortality associated with pneumonia and influenza.
Conclusions:
Family physicians provide sensitive, timely, and accurate community influenza morbidity data that complement data from other surveillance systems. This information enables monitoring of the type, timing, and intensity of influenza activity and can help health care workers implement prevention or control measures.
Insights
Volunteer family physicians provide timely and accurate influenza-like illness (ILI) data, supplementing existing surveillance systems. Their reports offer valuable insights into community influenza activity for better public health interventions.
Area of Science:
- Epidemiology
- Public Health Surveillance
- Infectious Disease Monitoring
Background:
- Influenza surveillance relies on multiple systems, including those from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
- The utility of volunteer family physician reports in augmenting existing influenza surveillance data requires evaluation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the value of volunteer family physician reports in supplementing influenza-like illness (ILI) data from other surveillance systems.
- To determine if physician reports provide timely and accurate information on influenza activity.
Main Methods:
- Evaluation of family physician reports over five influenza seasons (1987-1992) across the United States.
- Data collection involved an average of 140 physicians per season, documenting office visits and hospitalizations for ILI.
- ILI was defined by fever and cough, sore throat, or myalgia, with physician's clinical judgment of influenza; some physicians collected specimens for viral confirmation.
Main Results:
- Physicians reported 5% of over 1.6 million office visits as ILI, with 3% of ILI patients hospitalized.
- Individuals aged 65 and older represented 11% of ILI visits and 43% of ILI hospitalizations.
- Physician-reported influenza isolates peaked 1-4 weeks earlier than World Health Organization laboratory data and peak morbidity was reported earlier than state health departments.
Conclusions:
- Volunteer family physicians offer sensitive, timely, and accurate community influenza morbidity data.
- Physician-reported data effectively complements existing surveillance systems for monitoring influenza.
- This enhanced surveillance aids in understanding influenza type, timing, and intensity, supporting public health interventions.
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