In response to increasing reports of avian influenza being identified throughout the eastern hemisphere, the World Health Organization and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services have published pandemic influenza preparedness plans. These plans include detailed recommendations for routine influenza surveillance during ongoing interpandemic periods as well as recommendations for enhanced influenza surveillance during episodes of international, national, and local pandemic alerts. Like many states, the Connecticut Department of Public Health (DPH), prepared its own Pandemic Influenza Response Plan. The DPH has also been expanding its arsenal of surveillance systems. These systems include a syndromic surveillance system, known as the Hospital Admissions Surveillance System (HASS), developed in September 2001 to monitor for possible bioterrorism events and emerging infections. HASS data has been utilized to supplement information received from laboratoryconfirmed influenza test, influenza-like-illness reporting, and pneumonia influenza mortality to track seasonal influenza.
Objective
This paper examines the results of a review of state pandemic influenza preparedness plans and compares various approaches for routine influenza surveillance during interpandemic periods with approaches for enhanced surveillance during pandemic alerts. The results of this review are compared with the experience of using a hospital-based syndromic surveillance system as a supplement to laboratory and clinical influenza surveillance systems.