Background: In the COVID-19 pandemic period, surveillance relies on comprehensive testing and case-based reporting. In the post-pandemic phase, multi-layered surveillance, including sentinel surveillance, should be developed to provide information for policy-making. Methods: The existing sentinel network for surveillance of acute respiratory infections was upgraded in the 2020/2021 season with COVID-19 added to the list of reportable diagnoses. We have updated the instructions for the sentinel sites. The virological sampling protocol was adapted to the pandemic and sentinel samples were tested for SARS-CoV-2. To assess the reliability and usability of the upgraded system, we compared the weekly sentinel COVID-19 incidence rates with national incidence rates. Results: Weekly sentinel COVID-19 incidence rates were comparable to nationally reported rates with some deviations. The largest differences were in the age group ≥65 years, with lower incidence rates in the sentinel compared to the national data in the second wave of the pandemic. In adults (20–64 years), the discrepancy was less pronounced. Virological data showed the complete absence of influenza circulation in the 2020/21 season, the unusual course of the RSV season and the absence of hMPV in the first year of the pandemic. The proportion of positive sentinel samples for SARS-CoV-2 was comparable to national data. Conclusions: The process of integrating COVID-19 into the sentinel surveillance is ongoing. We closely monitor the data in order to contextually understand the factors that may affect the results and identify the limitations of the sentinel surveillance for the COVID-19 pandemic.
| Published in | Science Journal of Public Health (Volume 10, Issue 5) |
| DOI | 10.11648/j.sjph.20221005.12 |
| Page(s) | 207-213 |
| Creative Commons |
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited. |
| Copyright |
Copyright © The Author(s), 2022. Published by Science Publishing Group |
COVID-19, Sentinel Surveillance, Influenza-Like Illness, Acute Respiratory Infections, Pandemic
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APA Style
Maja Socan, Katarina Prosenc. (2022). Integration of COVID-19 into the Sentinel Influenza and Other Acute Respiratory Infections Network. Science Journal of Public Health, 10(5), 207-213. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjph.20221005.12
ACS Style
Maja Socan; Katarina Prosenc. Integration of COVID-19 into the Sentinel Influenza and Other Acute Respiratory Infections Network. Sci. J. Public Health 2022, 10(5), 207-213. doi: 10.11648/j.sjph.20221005.12
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Download@article{10.11648/j.sjph.20221005.12,
author = {Maja Socan and Katarina Prosenc},
title = {Integration of COVID-19 into the Sentinel Influenza and Other Acute Respiratory Infections Network},
journal = {Science Journal of Public Health},
volume = {10},
number = {5},
pages = {207-213},
doi = {10.11648/j.sjph.20221005.12},
url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjph.20221005.12},
eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.sjph.20221005.12},
abstract = {Background: In the COVID-19 pandemic period, surveillance relies on comprehensive testing and case-based reporting. In the post-pandemic phase, multi-layered surveillance, including sentinel surveillance, should be developed to provide information for policy-making. Methods: The existing sentinel network for surveillance of acute respiratory infections was upgraded in the 2020/2021 season with COVID-19 added to the list of reportable diagnoses. We have updated the instructions for the sentinel sites. The virological sampling protocol was adapted to the pandemic and sentinel samples were tested for SARS-CoV-2. To assess the reliability and usability of the upgraded system, we compared the weekly sentinel COVID-19 incidence rates with national incidence rates. Results: Weekly sentinel COVID-19 incidence rates were comparable to nationally reported rates with some deviations. The largest differences were in the age group ≥65 years, with lower incidence rates in the sentinel compared to the national data in the second wave of the pandemic. In adults (20–64 years), the discrepancy was less pronounced. Virological data showed the complete absence of influenza circulation in the 2020/21 season, the unusual course of the RSV season and the absence of hMPV in the first year of the pandemic. The proportion of positive sentinel samples for SARS-CoV-2 was comparable to national data. Conclusions: The process of integrating COVID-19 into the sentinel surveillance is ongoing. We closely monitor the data in order to contextually understand the factors that may affect the results and identify the limitations of the sentinel surveillance for the COVID-19 pandemic.},
year = {2022}
}
TY - JOUR T1 - Integration of COVID-19 into the Sentinel Influenza and Other Acute Respiratory Infections Network AU - Maja Socan AU - Katarina Prosenc Y1 - 2022/09/05 PY - 2022 N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjph.20221005.12 DO - 10.11648/j.sjph.20221005.12 T2 - Science Journal of Public Health JF - Science Journal of Public Health JO - Science Journal of Public Health SP - 207 EP - 213 PB - Science Publishing Group SN - 2328-7950 UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjph.20221005.12 AB - Background: In the COVID-19 pandemic period, surveillance relies on comprehensive testing and case-based reporting. In the post-pandemic phase, multi-layered surveillance, including sentinel surveillance, should be developed to provide information for policy-making. Methods: The existing sentinel network for surveillance of acute respiratory infections was upgraded in the 2020/2021 season with COVID-19 added to the list of reportable diagnoses. We have updated the instructions for the sentinel sites. The virological sampling protocol was adapted to the pandemic and sentinel samples were tested for SARS-CoV-2. To assess the reliability and usability of the upgraded system, we compared the weekly sentinel COVID-19 incidence rates with national incidence rates. Results: Weekly sentinel COVID-19 incidence rates were comparable to nationally reported rates with some deviations. The largest differences were in the age group ≥65 years, with lower incidence rates in the sentinel compared to the national data in the second wave of the pandemic. In adults (20–64 years), the discrepancy was less pronounced. Virological data showed the complete absence of influenza circulation in the 2020/21 season, the unusual course of the RSV season and the absence of hMPV in the first year of the pandemic. The proportion of positive sentinel samples for SARS-CoV-2 was comparable to national data. Conclusions: The process of integrating COVID-19 into the sentinel surveillance is ongoing. We closely monitor the data in order to contextually understand the factors that may affect the results and identify the limitations of the sentinel surveillance for the COVID-19 pandemic. VL - 10 IS - 5 ER -
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