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Emergency Department Visits for Influenza-Like Illness and Over the Counter Sales of Flu Remedies in the National Capitol Region, 2003-2007

Description

The Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene conducts enhanced surveillance using the Electronic Surveillance System for Early Notification of Community-Based Epidemics (ESSENCE). The current version of ESSENCE for the National Capital Region consists of information from multiple data sources for syndromic surveillance in Maryland, Washington DC, and Virginia. Chief complaint data from emergency department (ED) visits and over-the-counter (OTC) medications are categorized into syndromes and alerts are generated when observed counts are outside the expected range. ESSENCE alerts users to unusual counts of a particular syndrome based on both temporal and spatial distribution for enhanced surveillance of disease activity. While several studies have examined the usefulness of ED data to detect the start of the influenza season, a lack of information exists on the usability of OTC sales to detect influenza. OTC data may provide an earlier alert to illness than other sources, if people self-treat with OTC medications.

 

Objective

This study examines the ability of syndromic surveillance data to detect seasonal influenza. ED visits for influenza-like illness and OTC flu medication sales are evaluated to determine whether these data sources are useful in the detection of the influenza season. Data sources that can detect seasonal influenza may also be used to help detect the start of pandemic influenza.

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