Nationwide surveillance of 18 respiratory viruses in patients with influenza-like illnesses: a pilot feasibility study in the French Sentinel Network.

The aim of the present study was to test the feasibility of integrating the diagnosis of 18 respiratory viruses into clinical surveillance of influenza-like illness using a PCR-DNA microarray detection assay. The study took place in the French Sentinel Network, a nationwide surveillance network of General Practitioners (GPs) representative of French GPs in terms age, location, and type of practice (urban/rural). Three virological laboratories also participated in the study. The study was planned for 5 weeks from January 25, 2010 to February 27, 2010. A subset of 150 Sentinel GPs, located in mainland France, was enrolled to collect clinical data and nasopharyngeal samples from every first patient of the week having a medical visit for influenza-like illness defined as a sudden fever of 39°C or more with respiratory symptoms and myalgia. Sixty-three GPs (42%) collected 103 samples while 87 GPs (58%) did not. GPs did not differ with respect to their age, gender, urban/rural distribution, or years of inscription in the Sentinel Network. Patients included were of a similar age and had similar vaccination characteristics, but were more frequently men than influenza-like illness patients reported to the network during the study period. Sixty-one viruses were detected from 56 of 96 (58%) interpretable samples. The respiratory viruses detected most frequently were metapneumovirus and respiratory syncytial virus. This study showed that virological diagnosis of 18 respiratory viruses can be combined with surveillance of clinical influenza-like illness in general practice. Although feasibility has not been demonstrated yet, it will be evaluated over the winter of 2010-2011.