Internet-based syndromic monitoring of acute respiratory illness in the general population of Germany, weeks 35/2011 to 34/2012

Bayer, Christophe; Remschmidt, Cornelius; Heiden, Maria an der; Tolksdorf, Kristin; Herzhoff, Michael; Kaersten, S; Buda, Silke; Haas, Walter; Buchholz, Udo

doi:10.2807/1560-7917.es2014.19.4.20684

Cited by 35 publications

(41 citation statements)

References 11 publications

(1 reference statement)

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“…The first method consisted of dropping each participant's first report to the system to account for first-time user error and nonserious reporting, because similar methods are employed by other participatory surveillance systems. 1,6 We designed the second method specifically to filter out undesired spikes observed in the unadjusted FNY influenza-like illness rates. By analyzing historical weekly changes in CDCreported ILI rates with respect to the preceding 4 weeks from December 2002 to October 2011, we observed that changes in CDC influenza-like illness rates typically (99% of the times) fell within -10 and 10 SDs from the mean change of the previous 4 weeks.…”

Section: Data Management and Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

Flu Near You: Crowdsourced Symptom Reporting Spanning 2 Influenza Seasons

et al. 2015

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Section: Data Management and Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

Flu Near You: Crowdsourced Symptom Reporting Spanning 2 Influenza Seasons

et al. 2015

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“…To estimate the burden of disease on population level due to acute respiratory infections (ARI), influenza‐like illness (ILI) or influenza in particular Internet‐based, participatory surveillance systems have been set up in the last 15 years in several countries within and outside of Europe . In Germany, a system called GrippeWeb has been launched in 2011 . Advantages of GrippeWeb include that it works year‐round and generates representative data in all age groups.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Advantages of GrippeWeb include that it works year‐round and generates representative data in all age groups. Moreover, as GrippeWeb also collects information if a person with ARI consults a physician for his or her illness GrippeWeb data on “ARI with ensuing consultation of a primary health care provider” could be successfully compared and cross‐validated with data on “physician consultations due to ARI” generated by the German sentinel physician network “Arbeitsgemeinschaft Influenza” (AGI) …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Feasibility study for the use of self‐collected nasal swabs to identify pathogens among participants of a population‐based surveillance system for acute respiratory infections (GrippeWeb‐Plus)—Germany, 2016

Haussig

Targosz

Engelhart

et al. 2019

Influenza Resp Viruses

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Background Internet‐based participatory surveillance systems, such as the German GrippeWeb, monitor the frequency of acute respiratory illnesses on population level. In order to interpret syndromic information better, we devised a microbiological feasibility study (GrippeWeb‐Plus) to test whether self‐collection of anterior nasal swabs is operationally possible, acceptable for participants and can yield valid data. Methods We recruited 103 GrippeWeb participants (73 adults and 30 children) and provided them with a kit, instructions and a questionnaire for each sample. In the first half of 2016, participants took an anterior nasal swab and sent it to the Robert Koch Institute whenever an acute respiratory illness occurred. Reporting of illnesses through the GrippeWeb platform continued as usual. We analysed swabs for the presence of human c‐myc‐DNA and 22 viral and bacterial pathogens. After the study, we sent participants an evaluation questionnaire. We analysed timeliness, completeness, acceptability and validity. Results One hundred and two participants submitted 225 analysable swabs. Ninety per cent of swabs were taken within 3 days of symptom onset. Eighty‐nine per cent of swabs had a corresponding reported illness in the GrippeWeb system. Ninety‐nine per cent of adults and 96% of children would be willing to participate in a self‐swabbing scheme for a longer period. All swabs contained c‐myc‐DNA. In 119 swabs, we identified any of 14 viruses but no bacteria. The positivity rate of influenza was similar to that in the German physician sentinel. Conclusion Self‐collection of anterior nasal swabs proofed to be feasible, was well accepted by participants, gave valid results and was an informative adjunct to syndromic data.

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“…Inspired by these systems, the Skoll Global Threats Fund (SGTF) and HealthMap of Boston Children’s Hospital partnered to launch “Flu Near You” in the United States in 2011 [19,25]. All three systems aim to track ILI through capturing symptom-based reports from volunteers on a weekly basis and have demonstrated a strong correlation with trends seen in traditional influenza surveillance systems in their respective countries [18,19,26,27]. Since Fall 2015, the Public Health Agency of Canada has been piloting a similar influenza-focused system, the “FluWatchers” platform [28].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Participatory Disease Surveillance: Engaging Communities Directly in Reporting, Monitoring, and Responding to Health Threats

Smolinski¹,

Crawley²,

Olsen³

et al. 2017

JMIR Public Health Surveill

136

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BackgroundSince 2012, the International Workshop on Participatory Surveillance (IWOPS) has served as an informal network to share best practices, consult on analytic methods, and catalyze innovation to advance the burgeoning method of direct engagement of populations in voluntary monitoring of disease.ObjectiveThis landscape provides an overview of participatory disease surveillance systems in the IWOPS network and orients readers to this growing field of practice.MethodsAuthors reviewed participatory approaches that include human and animal health surveillance, both syndromic (self- reported symptoms) and event-based, and how these tools have been leveraged for disease modeling and forecasting. The authors also discuss benefits, challenges, and future directions for participatory disease surveillance.ResultsThere are at least 23 distinct participatory surveillance tools or programs represented in the IWOPS network across 18 countries. Organizations supporting these tools are diverse in nature.ConclusionsParticipatory disease surveillance is a promising method to complement both traditional, facility-based surveillance and newer digital epidemiology systems.

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Internet-based syndromic monitoring of acute respiratory illness in the general population of Germany, weeks 35/2011 to 34/2012

Abstract: Binary file ES_Abstracts_Final_ECDC.txt matches

Cited by 35 publications

References 11 publications

Flu Near You: Crowdsourced Symptom Reporting Spanning 2 Influenza Seasons

Flu Near You: Crowdsourced Symptom Reporting Spanning 2 Influenza Seasons

Feasibility study for the use of self‐collected nasal swabs to identify pathogens among participants of a population‐based surveillance system for acute respiratory infections (GrippeWeb‐Plus)—Germany, 2016

Participatory Disease Surveillance: Engaging Communities Directly in Reporting, Monitoring, and Responding to Health Threats

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