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Review
. 2015 Jul;9(4):179-90.
doi: 10.1111/irv.12315.

Southern Hemisphere Influenza and Vaccine Effectiveness Research and Surveillance

Qiu Sue Huang  1 , Nikki Turner  2 , Michael G Baker  3 , Deborah A Williamson  1   3   4 , Conroy Wong  5 , Richard Webby  6 , Marc-Alain Widdowson  7
Affiliations
Review

Southern Hemisphere Influenza and Vaccine Effectiveness Research and Surveillance

Qiu Sue Huang et al. Influenza Other Respir Viruses. 2015 Jul.

Abstract

The 2009 influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 pandemic highlighted the need for improved scientific knowledge to support better pandemic preparedness and seasonal influenza control. The Southern Hemisphere Influenza and Vaccine Effectiveness Research and Surveillance (SHIVERS) project, a 5-year (2012-2016) multiagency and multidisciplinary collaboration, aimed to measure disease burden, epidemiology, aetiology, risk factors, immunology, effectiveness of vaccination and other prevention strategies for influenza and other respiratory infectious diseases of public health importance. Two active, prospective, population-based surveillance systems were established for monitoring influenza and other respiratory pathogens among those hospitalized patients with acute respiratory illness and those enrolled patients seeking consultations at sentinel general practices. In 2015, a sero-epidemiological study will use a sample of patients from the same practices. These data will provide a full picture of the disease burden and risk factors from asymptomatic infections to severe hospitalized disease and deaths and related economic burden. The results during the first 2 years (2012-2013) provided scientific evidence to (a) support a change to NZ's vaccination policy for young children due to high influenza hospitalizations in these children; (b) contribute to the revision of the World Health Organization's case definition for severe acute respiratory illness for global influenza surveillance; and (c) contribute in part to vaccine strain selection using vaccine effectiveness assessment in the prevention of influenza-related consultations and hospitalizations. In summary, SHIVERS provides valuable international platforms for supporting seasonal influenza control and pandemic preparedness, and responding to other emerging/endemic respiratory-related infections.

Keywords: disease burden; epidemiology; immunology; influenza; risk factors; vaccine effectiveness.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
A map of New Zealand, Auckland District Health Board (ADHB) and Counties Manukau District Health Board (CMDHB).
Figure 2
Figure 2
SHIVERS hospital surveillance platform.*Note: In 2012, the WHO interim SARI case definition was used (i.e. onset within the past 7 days). Since 2013, the WHO final SARI case definition was used (i.e. onset within the past 10 days).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Sampling and testing for cases from hospital and sentinel general practice surveillance platforms.
Figure 4
Figure 4
SHIVERS sentinel general practice surveillance platform.
Figure 5
Figure 5
SHIVERS surveillance platforms and interconnectedness of the 9 objectives.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. WHO. 2011. Report of the Review Committee on the Functioning of the International Health Regulations (2005) in relation to Pandemic (H1N1) 2009. Available at http://apps.who.int/gb/ebwha/pdf_files/WHA64/A64_10-en.pdf (Accessed 11 April 2014)
    1. Fineberg HV. Pandemic preparedness and response–lessons from the H1N1 influenza of 2009. N Engl J Med. 2014;370:1335–1342. - PubMed
    1. Huang QS, Bandaranayake D, Lopez LD, et al. Surveillance for the 2009 pandemic influenza A (H1N1) virus and seasonal influenza viruses - New Zealand, 2009. MMWR. 2009;58:918–921. - PubMed
    1. Huang QS, Lopez LD, McCallum L, Adlam B. Influenza surveillance and immunisation in New Zealand, 1997-2006. Influenza Other Respir Viruses. 2008;2:139–145. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Huang QS, Lopez L, Adlam B. Influenza surveillance in New Zealand in 2005. N Z Med J. 2007;120:U2581. - PubMed

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