Influenza surveillance systems using traditional and alternative sources of data: A scoping review

Abstract

Objective While the World Health Organization's recommendation of syndromic sentinel surveillance for influenza is an efficient method to collect high‐quality data, limitations exist. Aligned with the Research Recommendation 1.1.2 of the WHO Public Health Research Agenda for Influenza—to identify reliable complementary influenza surveillance systems which provide real‐time estimates of influenza activity—we performed a scoping review to map the extent and nature of published literature on the use of non‐traditional sources of syndromic surveillance data for influenza. Methods We searched three electronic databases (PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus) for articles in English, French, and Spanish, published between January 1 2007 and January 28 2022. Studies were included if they directly compared at least one non‐traditional with a traditional influenza surveillance system in terms of correlation in activity or timeliness. Findings We retrieved 823 articles of which 57 were included for analysis. Fifteen articles considered electronic health records (EHR), 11 participatory surveillance, 10 online searches and webpage traffic, seven Twitter, five absenteeism, four telephone health lines, three medication sales, two media reporting, and five looked at other miscellaneous sources of data. Several articles considered more than one non‐traditional surveillance method. Conclusion We identified eight categories and a miscellaneous group of non‐traditional influenza surveillance systems with varying levels of evidence on timeliness and correlation to traditional surveillance systems. Analyses of EHR and participatory surveillance systems appeared to have the most agreement on timeliness and correlation to traditional systems. Studies suggested non‐traditional surveillance systems as complements rather than replacements to traditional systems.

Phenotype Execution and Modelling Architecture (PhEMA) to support disease surveillance and real-world evidence studies: English sentinel network evaluation

“…Tracking the incidence of ILI is important because in respiratory surveillance systems around half of ILI clinical cases have laboratory confirmed influenza. [33] Alongside other surveillance indicators ILI surveillance should be part of the mosaic of measures used to flag an emergent pandemic. [34,35] The RSC provides weekly ILI incidence figures to UKHSA in its weekly report.…”

SARS-CoV-2, influenza A/B and respiratory syncytial virus positivity and association with influenza-like illness and self-reported symptoms, over the 2022/23 winter season in the UK: a longitudinal surveillance cohort

“…Understanding within-season dynamics is critical to healthcare preparedness and vaccination planning. Routine syndromic and laboratory surveillance is commonly conducted using patients attending community doctors, hospitals, and ambulance services [ 3 ], thus being skewed towards symptomatic and more severe cases, and influenced by differential health-care-seeking behaviours [ 4 ]. This approach may underestimate the community burden of seasonal influenza, as most cases are mild and/or asymptomatic [ 5 ].…”

SARS-CoV-2, influenza A/B and respiratory syncytial virus positivity and association with influenza-like illness and self-reported symptoms, over the 2022/23 winter season in the UK: a longitudinal surveillance cohort

“…1,2 Understanding within-season dynamics is critical to healthcare preparedness and vaccination planning. Routine syndromic and laboratory surveillance is commonly conducted using patients attending community doctors, hospitals, and ambulance services, 3 thus being skewed towards symptomatic and more severe cases, and influenced by differential health-care seeking behaviours, 4 and underestimating the community burden of seasonal influenza, as most cases are mild and/or asymptomatic. 5 Alternative data sources include community surveys, e.g.…”