French national health agency Santé Publique France will monitor COVID-19, influenza and bronchiolitis, all three acute respiratory infections, at the same time, the health agency announced on Thursday, ahead of the rapidly approaching season of respiratory viruses.
While surveillance data will include input from general practitioners, hospitals, wastewater, and medical biology laboratories, the agency’s website will feature a weekly epidemiological bulletin.
“As part of its mission, Santé publique France offers an integrated approach to ARI [acute respiratory infections] surveillance, enabling us to assess better their public health burden and their impact on healthcare provision”, the health agency said in a press release.
“We are now entering a new phase based on adapting existing and newly-created systems. The complementary nature of these surveillance systems will enable us to monitor the epidemic dynamic and assess its evolution globally and by pathology”, said Santé Publique France head Caroline Semaille in a press release.
The idea of joint surveillance was prompted by last winter’s experience, which saw high levels of circulation of several respiratory viruses such as COVID-19, bronchiolitis (RSV) and influenza.
“This triple epidemic, which followed a two-year pandemic, has weighed heavily on the healthcare system. Against this backdrop, it is essential to keep a watchful eye on the coming winter season”, the French agency added.
“Santé publique France teams throughout the country work daily to constantly optimise surveillance. In this way, integrated surveillance of ARIs will be further enriched over the coming months”, Semaille also said.
On 2 October, France decided to launch its vaccination campaign against COVID-19 and influenza, following the recommendations of EU health agencies.
“We will soon see the arrival of autumn and winter, where we anticipate a resurgence of seasonal influenza and RSV. We also see increases in SARS-CoV-2 transmission in the EU/EEA and anticipate the viruses will co-circulate in the coming months,” Andrea Ammon, director of the European Centre for Disease Control, said at a press conference in September.
(Clara Bauer-Babef | Euractiv.fr)
