Edelstein Michael, Wallensten Anders, Zetterqvist Inga, Hulth Anette
Department of Epidemiology and Evaluation, Public Health Agency of Sweden, Solna, Sweden; European Program for Investigation Epidemiology Training (EPIET), European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), Stockholm, Sweden.
Department of Epidemiology and Evaluation, Public Health Agency of Sweden, Solna, Sweden.
PLoS One. 2014 Jun 23;9(6):e100309. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0100309. eCollection 2014.
Norovirus outbreaks severely disrupt healthcare systems. We evaluated whether Websök, an internet-based surveillance system using search engine data, improved norovirus surveillance and response in Sweden. We compared Websök users' characteristics with the general population, cross-correlated weekly Websök searches with laboratory notifications between 2006 and 2013, compared the time Websök and laboratory data crossed the epidemic threshold and surveyed infection control teams about their perception and use of Websök. Users of Websök were not representative of the general population. Websök correlated with laboratory data (b = 0.88-0.89) and gave an earlier signal to the onset of the norovirus season compared with laboratory-based surveillance. 17/21 (81%) infection control teams answered the survey, of which 11 (65%) believed Websök could help with infection control plans. Websök is a low-resource, easily replicable system that detects the norovirus season as reliably as laboratory data, but earlier. Using Websök in routine surveillance can help infection control teams prepare for the yearly norovirus season.
诺如病毒暴发严重扰乱医疗系统。我们评估了Websök(一种利用搜索引擎数据的基于互联网的监测系统)是否改善了瑞典的诺如病毒监测及应对措施。我们将Websök用户的特征与普通人群进行了比较,对2006年至2013年间每周的Websök搜索与实验室通报进行了交叉关联分析,比较了Websök和实验室数据越过流行阈值的时间,并就感染控制团队对Websök的认知和使用情况进行了调查。Websök的用户并不代表普通人群。Websök与实验室数据相关(b = 0.88 - 0.89),与基于实验室的监测相比,能更早地发出诺如病毒季节开始的信号。21个感染控制团队中有17个(81%)回复了调查,其中11个(65%)认为Websök有助于制定感染控制计划。Websök是一个资源需求少、易于复制的系统,能像实验室数据一样可靠地检测到诺如病毒季节,但时间更早。在常规监测中使用Websök有助于感染控制团队为每年的诺如病毒季节做好准备。