If the next influenza pandemic emerges in Southeast Asia, the identification of early detection strategies in this region could enable public health officials to respond rapidly. Accurate, real-time influenza surveillance is therefore crucial. Novel approaches to the monitoring of infectious disease, especially respiratory disease, are increasingly under evaluation in an effort to avoid the cost- and timeintensive nature of active surveillance, as well as the processing time lag of traditional passive surveillance. In response to these issues, we have developed an indications and warning (I&W) taxonomy of pandemic influenza based on social disruption indicators reported in news media.
Objective
Our aim is to analyze news media for I&W of influenza to determine if the signals they create differ significantly between seasonal and pandemic influenza years.