Validation of Syndromic Surveillance for Respiratory Pathogen Activity
Author Information
Author(s): van den Wijngaard Cees, van Asten Liselotte, van Pelt Wilfrid, Nagelkerke Nico J.D., Verheij Robert, de Neeling Albert J., Dekkers Arnold, van der Sande Marianne A.B., van Vliet Hans, Koopmans Marion P.G.
Primary Institution: National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, Bilthoven, the Netherlands
Hypothesis
The studied respiratory syndromes are suitable for syndromic surveillance because they reflect respiratory pathogen activity patterns.
Conclusion
These syndromes can be used for respiratory syndromic surveillance, since they reflect patterns in respiratory pathogen activity.
Supporting Evidence
- Respiratory syndromes showed higher levels in winter, corresponding with higher laboratory counts of respiratory pathogens.
- Multiple linear regression models indicated that most syndrome variations can be explained by counts of respiratory pathogens.
- Absenteeism data showed the earliest syndrome elevations, followed by hospital data and pharmacy consultations.
Takeaway
This study shows that certain health data can help us detect respiratory illnesses early by looking at patterns in symptoms.
Methodology
The study retrospectively investigated the extent to which 6 respiratory syndromes reflected respiratory pathogen activity using multiple linear regression models.
Potential Biases
Changes in test volume over time could lead to misclassification bias.
Limitations
The short duration of the time series for absenteeism and pharmacy data limits the generalizability of the findings.
Participant Demographics
Data were collected from various health-related registries in the Netherlands.
Statistical Information
Statistical Significance
p<0.05
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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