Self-Swabbing for Virological Confirmation of Influenza-Like Illness Among an Internet-Based Cohort in the UK During the 2014-2015 Flu Season: Pilot Study

Journal of Medical Internet Research
Clare WenhamWilliam J Edmunds

Abstract

Routine influenza surveillance, based on laboratory confirmation of viral infection, often fails to estimate the true burden of influenza-like illness (ILI) in the community because those with ILI often manage their own symptoms without visiting a health professional. Internet-based surveillance can complement this traditional surveillance by measuring symptoms and health behavior of a population with minimal time delay. Flusurvey, the UK's largest crowd-sourced platform for surveillance of influenza, collects routine data on more than 6000 voluntary participants and offers real-time estimates of ILI circulation. However, one criticism of this method of surveillance is that it is only able to assess ILI, rather than virologically confirmed influenza. We designed a pilot study to see if it was feasible to ask individuals from the Flusurvey platform to perform a self-swabbing task and to assess whether they were able to collect samples with a suitable viral content to detect an influenza virus in the laboratory. Virological swabbing kits were sent to pilot study participants, who then monitored their ILI symptoms over the influenza season (2014-2015) through the Flusurvey platform. If they reported ILI, they were asked to underta...Continue Reading

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Citations

Sep 11, 2020·JMIR Public Health and Surveillance·Sébastien MartinYolanda Mueller
Oct 3, 2020·Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health·Michael EdelsteinMary Ramsay
Jun 28, 2018·Euro Surveillance : Bulletin Européen Sur Les Maladies Transmissibles = European Communicable Disease Bulletin·Caroline GuerrisiVittoria Colizza
Feb 11, 2021·Journal of Clinical Microbiology·Ashley E KimHelen Y Chu
Mar 7, 2021·Journal of Clinical Microbiology·Sara B GriesemerKirsten St George

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Methods Mentioned

BETA
PCR
..

Software Mentioned

Flutracking
Flusurvey
Flu Watch
GoViral

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