Back to Annual Meeting

Back to Annual Meeting

APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Hwa-Gan H. Chang, PhD¹, Candace Noonan-Toly¹, Geraldine Johnson², Perry F. Smith, MD¹, and Barbara Wallace, MD². (1) Division of Epidemiology, New York State Department of Health, Corning Tower Building, Empire State Plaza, Albany, NY 12237, 518-402-5012, hgc04@health.state.ny.us, (2) Bureau of Communicable Disease Control, New York State Department of Health, Corning Tower Building, Empire State Plaza, Albany, NY 12237

Objectives

To describe the characteristics of real-time laboratory reporting of influenza test results and to evaluate the patterns of influenza activity from different data sources.

Methods

Influenza reporting was implemented through New York's Electronic Clinical Laboratory Reporting System (ECLRS). Demographic information, timeliness of reporting, testing methods, and influenza type were studied. Trends in influenza activity as reflected in laboratory reports were compared with trends in Medicaid anti-influenza prescriptions and the number of hospitalized patients with laboratory-confirmed influenza.

Results

From December 1, 2004, through May 21, 2005, 5521 cases were reported through ECLRS. Fifty-six percent of the cases were female, the median duration from specimen collection date to report date was two days. Influenza A accounted for 71% of the cases, influenza B 13%, and 16% were unspecified. The median age of laboratory reported cases was 48 years for influenza A and 27 years for influenza B (p< 0.05). Of the 4579 (83%) reports that included test type, 68% were rapid tests, 23% cultures and 9% were other test types.

The number of weekly laboratory cases over time showed similar trends as weekly Medicaid prescriptions and hospitalized patients: influenza activity increased in the week of 12/18/2005 for all three systems, peaked during the week of 01/01/2005 for Medicaid prescriptions and 01/08/2006 for both laboratory cases and hospitalized patients.

Conclusions

Real-time laboratory reporting provides a rapid way for early indications of influenza activity and the epidemiologic characteristics of influenza. Medicaid prescriptions and hospitalized patients corroborated and enhanced laboratory reports as surveillance tools.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, the participant in this session will be able to

• recognize the benefits of real-time laboratory reporting system for influenza
• Evaluate the surveillance tools to identify influenza activity.

Keywords: Surveillance, Infectious Diseases

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Not Answered