Are School Absences Correlated with Influenza Surveillance Data in England? Results from Decipher My Data—A Research Project Conducted through Scientific Engagement with Schools

Autor: Aldridge, Robert W., Hayward, Andrew C., Field, Nigel, Warren-Gash, Charlotte, Smith, Colette, Pebody, Richard, Fleming, Declan, McCracken, Shane
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2016
Předmět:
RNA viruses
Male
Viral Diseases
Research Facilities
Epidemiology
Social Sciences
Pathology and Laboratory Medicine
Geographical locations
Disease Outbreaks
Families
Sociology
Absenteeism
Medicine and Health Sciences
Prevalence
Child
Children
Schools
virus diseases
Europe
Infectious Diseases
England
Medical Microbiology
Viral Pathogens
Child
Preschool
Population Surveillance
Viruses
Female
Pathogens
Research Laboratories
Research Article
Infectious Disease Control
Adolescent
education
Disease Surveillance
Rhinovirus Infection
Research and Analysis Methods
Microbiology
Caliciviruses
Education
Influenza
Human
Humans
Microbial Pathogens
Biology and life sciences
Norovirus
Organisms
Influenza
United Kingdom
Age Groups
Infectious Disease Surveillance
People and Places
Population Groupings
Government Laboratories
Zdroj: PLoS ONE
ISSN: 1932-6203
Popis: Background School aged children are a key link in the transmission of influenza. Most cases have little or no interaction with health services and are therefore missed by the majority of existing surveillance systems. As part of a public engagement with science project, this study aimed to establish a web-based system for the collection of routine school absence data and determine if school absence prevalence was correlated with established surveillance measures for circulating influenza. Methods We collected data for two influenza seasons (2011/12 and 2012/13). The primary outcome was daily school absence prevalence (weighted to make it nationally representative) for children aged 11 to 16. School absence prevalence was triangulated graphically and through univariable linear regression to Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) influenza like illness (ILI) episode incidence rate, national microbiological surveillance data on the proportion of samples positive for influenza (A+B) and with Rhinovirus, RSV and laboratory confirmed cases of Norovirus. Results 27 schools submitted data over two respiratory seasons. During the first season, levels of influenza measured by school absence prevalence and established surveillance were low. In the 2012/13 season, a peak of school absence prevalence occurred in week 51, and week 1 in RCGP ILI surveillance data. Linear regression showed a strong association between the school absence prevalence and RCGP ILI (All ages, and 5–14 year olds), laboratory confirmed cases of influenza A & B, and weak evidence for a linear association with Rhinovirus and Norovirus. Interpretation This study provides initial evidence for using routine school illness absence prevalence as a novel tool for influenza surveillance. The network of web-based data collection platforms we established through active engagement provides an innovative model of conducting scientific research and could be used for a wide range of infectious disease studies in the future.
Databáze: OpenAIRE
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