The national and provincial burden of medically attended influenza‐associated influenza‐like illness and severe acute respiratory illness in the Democratic Republic of Congo, 2013‐2015

Babakazo, Pélagie; Lubula, Leopold; Disasuani, Wally; Manya, Léonie Kitoko; Nkwembe, Edith; Mitongo, Naomi; Kavunga‐Membo, Hugo; Changachanga, Jean-Claude; Muhemedi, Saleh; Ilunga, Benoît Kebela; Wemakoy, Emile Okitolonda; Tamfum, Jean‐Jacques Muyembe; Kabamba-Tshilobo, Joelle; Tempia, Stefano

doi:10.1111/irv.12601

Cited by 15 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 28 publications

(176 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Integrated and well-run multi-pathogen surveillance systems, if adequately staffed may provide high quality and timely epidemiological and virological data with a "modest" financial investment. The national burden of illness attributable to specific pathogens can be estimated from sentinel surveillance data through special studies as demonstrated in Zambia and other African countries for influenza [10][11][12][13][14][15][16]. This would be particularly relevant for policy makers if multiple pathogens are included so as to provide the relative burden associated with different etiological agents.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Such evaluations are useful to identify shortfalls, improve performance and provide evidence of data reliability for policy making and public health interventions. However, despite recent progress in describing the epidemiology and burden of influenza in sub-Saharan Africa [8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16], only a few countries have implemented a comprehensive evaluation of their surveillance systems [17][18][19][20][21].…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

An evaluation of the Zambia influenza sentinel surveillance system, 2011–2017

Simusika

Tempia

Chentulo

et al. 2020

BMC Health Serv Res

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background: Over the past decade, influenza surveillance has been established in several African countries including Zambia. However, information on the on data quality and reliability of established influenza surveillance systems in Africa are limited. Such information would enable countries to assess the performance of their surveillance systems, identify shortfalls for improvement and provide evidence of data reliability for policy making and public health interventions. Methods: We used the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines to evaluate the performance of the influenza surveillance system (ISS) in Zambia during 2011-2017 using 9 attributes: (i) data quality and completeness, (ii) timeliness, (iii) representativeness, (iv) flexibility, (v) simplicity, (vi) acceptability, (vii) stability, (viii) utility, and (ix) sustainability. Each attribute was evaluated using pre-defined indicators. For each indicator we obtained the proportion (expressed as percentage) of the outcome of interest over the total. A scale from 1 to 3 was used to provide a score for each attribute as follows: < 60% (as obtained in the calculation above) scored 1 (weak performance); 60-79% scored 2 (moderate performance); ≥80% scored 3 (good performance). An overall score for each attribute and the ISS was obtained by averaging the scores of all evaluated attributes. Results: The overall mean score for the ISS in Zambia was 2.6. Key strengths of the system were the quality of data generated (score: 2.9), its flexibility (score: 3.0) especially to monitor viral pathogens other than influenza viruses, its simplicity (score: 2.8), acceptability (score: 3.0) and stability (score: 2.6) over the review period and its relatively low cost ($310,000 per annum). Identified weaknesses related mainly to geographic representativeness (score: 2.0), timeliness (score: 2.5), especially in shipment of samples from remote sites, and sustainability (score: 1.0) in the absence of external funds. Conclusions: The system performed moderately well in our evaluation. Key improvements would include improvements in the timeliness of samples shipments and geographical coverage. However, these improvements would result in increased cost and logistical complexity. The ISSS in Zambia is largely reliant on external funds and the acceptability of maintaining the surveillance system through national funds would require evaluation.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

An evaluation of the Zambia influenza sentinel surveillance system, 2011–2017

Simusika

Tempia

Chentulo

et al. 2020

BMC Health Serv Res

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…During 2012-2015, the ISSS in DRC performed well with an overall system score of 2.5 (moderate to good performance) on a 3-point scale. In line with its objectives, the utility of the system was demonstrated by its ability to monitor the circulating influenza viruses in the country, monitor the temporal trends of influenza virus circulation, assess the proportional contribution of influenza-associated illness among outpatients and inpatients with ILI or SARI [6], estimate the national burden of influenza-associated illness [13] and contribute to the regional and global understanding of influenza epidemiology, including sharing of clinical samples with WHO collaborating center for annual selection of vaccine strains [5,14,15]. The flexibility of the ISSS in DRC allowed monitoring several syndromes of importance for the country under the same platform, increasing cost-effectiveness and avoiding the implementation of vertical surveillance programs.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluation of the influenza sentinel surveillance system in the Democratic Republic of Congo, 2012–2015

et al. 2019

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

BackgroundThe World Health Organization recommends periodic evaluations of influenza surveillance systems to identify areas for improvement and provide evidence of data reliability for policymaking. However, data about the performance of established influenza surveillance systems are limited in Africa, including in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).MethodsWe used the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines to evaluate the performance of the influenza sentinel surveillance system (ISSS) in DRC during 2012–2015. The performance of the system was evaluated using eight surveillance attributes: (i) data quality and completeness for key variables, (ii) timeliness, (iii) representativeness, (iv) flexibility, (v) simplicity, (vi) acceptability, (vii) stability and (viii) utility. For each attribute, specific indicators were developed and described using quantitative and qualitative methods. Scores for each indicator were as follows: < 60% weak performance; 60–79% moderate performance; ≥80% good performance.ResultsDuring 2012–2015, we enrolled and tested 4339 patients with influenza-like illness (ILI) and 2869 patients with severe acute respiratory illness (SARI) from 11 sentinel sites situated in 5 of 11 provinces. Influenza viruses were detected in 446 (10.3%) samples from patients with ILI and in 151 (5.5%) samples from patients with SARI with higher detection during December–May. Data quality and completeness was > 90% for all evaluated indicators. Other strengths of the system were timeliness, simplicity, stability and utility that scored > 70% each. Representativeness, flexibility and acceptability had moderate performance. It was reported that the ISSS contributed to: (i) a better understanding of the epidemiology, circulating patterns and proportional contribution of influenza virus among patients with ILI or SARI; (ii) acquisition of new key competences related to influenza surveillance and diagnosis; and (iii) continuous education of surveillance staff and clinicians at sentinel sites about influenza. However, due to limited resources no actions were undertaken to mitigate the impact of seasonal influenza epidemics.ConclusionsThe system performed overall satisfactorily and provided reliable and timely data about influenza circulation in DRC. The simplicity of the system contributed to its stability. A better use of the available data could be made to inform and promote prevention interventions especially among the most vulnerable groups.

show abstract

“…During 2012-2015, the ISSS in DRC performed well with an overall system score of 2.6(moderate to good performance) on a 3-point In line with its objectives, the utility of the system was demonstrated by its ability to monitor the circulating influenza viruses in the country, monitor the temporal trends of influenza virus circulation, assess the proportional contribution of influenza-associated illness among outpatients and inpatients with ILI or SARI [6], estimate the national burden of influenza-associated illness [13] and contribute to the regional and global understanding of influenza epidemiology, including sharing of clinical samples with WHO collaborating center for annual selection of vaccine strains [5,14,15].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 90%

Evaluation of the Influenza Sentinel Surveillance System in the Democratic Republic of Congo, 2012-2015

Babakazo

Kabamba-Tshilobo²,

Wemakoy

et al. 2019

Preprint

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

BackgroundThe World Health Organization recommends periodic evaluations of influenza surveillance systems to identify areas for improvement and provide evidence of data reliability for policymaking. However, data about the performance of established influenza surveillance systems are limited in Africa, including in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). MethodsWe used the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines to evaluate the performance of the influenza sentinel surveillance system (ISSS) in DRC during 2012-2015. The performance of the system was evaluated using eight surveillance attributes: (i) data quality and completeness for key variables, (ii) timeliness, (iii) representativeness, (iv) flexibility, (v) simplicity, (vi) acceptability, (vii) stability and (viii) utility. For each attribute, specific indicators were developed and described using quantitative and qualitative methods. Scores for each indicator were as follows: <60% weak performance; 60-79% moderate performance; ≥80% good performance. ResultsDuring 2012-2015, we enrolled and tested 4,339 patients with influenza-like illness (ILI) and 2,869 patients with severe acute respiratory illness (SARI) from 11 sentinel sites situated in 5 of 11 provinces. Influenza viruses were detected in 446 (10.3%) samples from patients with ILI and in 151 (5.5%) samples from patients with SARI with higher detection during December-May. Data quality and completeness was >90% for all evaluated indicators. Other strengths of the system were timeliness, representativeness, simplicity, stability and utility that scored >70% each. Flexibility and acceptability had moderate to week performance. It was reported that the ISSS contributed to: (i) a better understanding of the epidemiology, circulating patterns and proportional contribution of influenza virus among patients with ILI or SARI; (ii) acquisition of new key competences related to influenza surveillance and diagnosis; and (iii) continuous education of surveillance staff and clinicians at sentinel sites about influenza. However, due to limited resources no actions were undertaken to mitigate the impact of seasonal influenza epidemics. 4 ConclusionsThe system performed overall satisfactorily and provided reliable and timely data about influenza circulation in DRC. The simplicity of the system contributed to its stability. A better use of the available data could be made to inform and promote prevention interventions especially among the most vulnerable groups.

show abstract

The national and provincial burden of medically attended influenza‐associated influenza‐like illness and severe acute respiratory illness in the Democratic Republic of Congo, 2013‐2015

Cited by 15 publications

References 28 publications

An evaluation of the Zambia influenza sentinel surveillance system, 2011–2017

An evaluation of the Zambia influenza sentinel surveillance system, 2011–2017

Evaluation of the influenza sentinel surveillance system in the Democratic Republic of Congo, 2012–2015

Evaluation of the Influenza Sentinel Surveillance System in the Democratic Republic of Congo, 2012-2015

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About