Timeliness of syndromic influenza surveillance through work and school absenteeism |
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| Authors: | K Bollaerts J Antoine E Robesyn L Van Proeyen J Vomberg E Feys E De Decker B Catry |
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| Institution: | 1.Scientific Institute of Public Health, Directorate Public Health and Surveillance,Brussels,Belgium;2.Flemish Agency for Care and Health, Department of Public Health Surveillance,Brussels,Belgium;3.Flemish Agency for Educational Services,Brussels,Belgium;4.Department Education,Vocational Training and Employment, Ministry of the German-speaking Community of Belgium,Eupen,Belgium;5.SNCB (Belgian railways), Medical service,Brussels,Belgium;6.FPS Health, Food Chain Safety and Environment, Medical expertise (MEDEX),Brussels,Belgium |
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| Abstract: | In this paper, we investigate the usefulness of work and school absenteeism surveillance as an early warning system for influenza. In particular, time trends in daily absenteeism rates collected during the A(H1N1)2009 pandemic are compared with weekly incidence rates of influenza-like illness (ILI) obtained from the Belgian Sentinel General Practitioner (SGP) network. The results indicate a rise in absenteeism rates prior to the onset of the influenza epidemic, suggesting that absenteeism surveillance is a promising tool for early warning of influenza epidemics. To convincingly conclude on the usefulness of absenteeism data for early warning, additional data covering several influenza seasons is needed. |
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| Keywords: | School absenteeism worker absenteeism influenza influenza A virus H1N1 subtype |
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