National studies estimate that respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is responsible for one in 38 emergency department (ED) visits for children < 5 years old. The Council for State and Territorial Epidemiologists position statement (13-ID-07): “RSV-Associated Pediatric Mortality” advocates for improved RSV surveillance including monitoring of RSV-associated pediatric mortality and hospitalizations. The goal of that data collection is to establish prevaccine baselines to evaluate vaccine effectiveness should one become available. As RSV is not reportable in Florida, RSV surveillance relies on a small subset of all Florida hospital laboratories to report data in aggregate and calculation of percent positive of all tests for RSV performed. These data assess virus activity, and do not allow for assessment of morbidity or age-specific analysis. Moreover, this data is not complete or timely, most often becoming available a minimum of a week after the testing was conducted. Florida’s RSV surveillance efforts guide clinical decision making and insurance reimbursements. Florida’s RSV seasonality not only differs from the nation but there is strong variation among five distinct regions, as exemplified by southeast Florida where the RSV season is year round. In Florida, pre-approval of prophylactic treatment by insurance companies is tied to seasonality.
Objective
In Florida, pre-approval of prophylactic treatment by insurance companies is tied to seasonality. Previous analyses determined that Florida’s syndromic surveillance system (Electronic Surveillance System for the Early Notification of Community-based Epidemics [ESSENCE-FL]) was capable of monitoring Florida’s statewide RSV seasonality. This analysis aims to determine if ESSENCE-FL can also be used to describe RSV and RSV-associated hospitalizations in children < 5 years by region and season.