Published on in Vol 5, No 1 (2013):

Early Detection of Influenza Activity Using Syndromic Surveillance in Missouri

Early Detection of Influenza Activity Using Syndromic Surveillance in Missouri

Early Detection of Influenza Activity Using Syndromic Surveillance in Missouri

Authors of this article:

Fei Wu1 ;   Amy Kelsey1
The full text of this article is available as a PDF download by clicking here.

This study compared weekly percent of influenza-like illness (ILI) in Early Notification of Community-based Epidemics (ESSENCE) to weekly counts of laboratory confirmed influenza cases and evaluated the early warning potential of the ESSENCE weekly ILI percent for five consecutive influenza seasons (2006-11) in Missouri. ESSENCE weekly ILI percent was significantly correlated with weekly counts of laboratory-confirmed influenza cases. Use of the ESSENCE percent ILI baseline provided two weeks of advanced warning for seasonal influenza activity. These findings justify the use of ESSENCE for influenza surveillance.