Abstract
BackgroundThe national severe acute respiratory illness (SARI) surveillance system in Yemen was established in 2010 to monitor SARI occurrence in humans and provide a foundation for detecting SARI outbreaks.ObjectiveTo ensure that the objectives of national surveillance are being met, this study aimed to examine the level of usefulness and the performance of the SARI surveillance system in Yemen.MethodsThe updated Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines were used for the purposes of our evaluation. Related documents and reports were reviewed. Data were collected from 4 central-level managers and stakeholders and from 10 focal points at 4 sentinel sites by using a semistructured questionnaire. For each attribute, percent scores were calculated and ranked as follows: very poor (≤20%), poor (20%-40%), average (40%-60%), good (60%-80%), and excellent (>80%).ResultsAs rated by the evaluators, the SARI surveillance system achieved its objectives. The system’s flexibility (percent score: 86%) and acceptability (percent score: 82%) were rated as “excellent,” and simplicity (percent score: 74%) and stability (percent score: 75%) were rated as “good.” The percent score for timeliness was 23% in 2018, which indicated poor timeliness. The overall data quality percent score of the SARI system was 98.5%. Despite its many strengths, the SARI system has some weaknesses. For example, it depends on irregular external financial support.ConclusionsThe SARI surveillance system was useful in estimating morbidity and mortality, monitoring the trends of the disease, and promoting research for informing prevention and control measures. The overall performance of the SARI surveillance system was good. We recommend expanding the system by promoting private health facilities’ (eg, private hospitals and private health centers) engagement in SARI surveillance, establishing an electronic database at central and peripheral sites, and providing the National Central Public Health Laboratory with the reagents needed for disease confirmation.
Highlights
Worldwide, acute lower respiratory infection is the second commonest cause of morbidity and the third commonest cause of mortality in all age groups [1]
The severe acute respiratory illness (SARI) surveillance system was useful in estimating morbidity and mortality, monitoring the trends of the disease, and promoting research for informing prevention and control measures
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that worldwide annual influenza epidemics result in about 3 million https://publichealth.jmir.org/2021/7/e27621
Summary
Acute lower respiratory infection is the second commonest cause of morbidity and the third commonest cause of mortality in all age groups [1]. A significant proportion of the global burden of acute lower respiratory infection, especially in children and older adults, is attributable to influenza and respiratory syncytial viruses. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that worldwide annual influenza epidemics result in about 3 million https://publichealth.jmir.org/2021/7/e27621 XSLFO RenderX. In early 2019, the Global Burden of Disease study estimated that 99,000 to 200,000 annual deaths resulting from lower respiratory tract infections are directly attributable to influenza [1,2]. The national severe acute respiratory illness (SARI) surveillance system in Yemen was established in 2010 to monitor SARI occurrence in humans and provide a foundation for detecting SARI outbreaks
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
