Abstract
State and local health departments established the California Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and Respiratory Virus Sentinel Surveillance System to conduct enhanced surveillance for SARS-CoV-2 and other respiratory pathogens at sentinel outpatient testing sites in 10 counties throughout California, USA. We describe results obtained during May 10, 2020‒June 12, 2021, and compare persons with positive and negative SARS-CoV-2 PCR results by using Poisson regression. We detected SARS-CoV-2 in 1,696 (19.6%) of 8,662 specimens. Among 7,851 specimens tested by respiratory panel, rhinovirus/enterovirus was detected in 906 (11.5%) specimens and other respiratory pathogens in 136 (1.7%) specimens. We also detected 23 co-infections with SARS-CoV-2 and another pathogen. SARS-CoV-2 positivity was associated with male participants, an age of 35–49 years, Latino race/ethnicity, obesity, and work in transportation occupations. Sentinel surveillance can provide useful virologic and epidemiologic data to supplement other disease monitoring activities and might become increasingly useful as routine testing decreases.
Highlights
State and local health departments established the California Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and Respiratory Virus Sentinel Surveillance System to conduct enhanced surveillance for SARS-CoV-2 and other respiratory pathogens at sentinel outpatient testing sites in 10 counties throughout California, USA
Of the 7,851 specimens tested by respiratory panel, rhinovirus/enterovirus was detected in 906 (11.5%) specimens, non–COVID-19 coronavirus in 126 (1.6%) specimens, adenovirus in 6 specimens, parainfluenza virus in 5 specimens, metapneumovirus in 3 specimens, M. pneumoniae in 2 specimens, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in 1 specimen
During May 2020–June 2021, the temporal pattern of SARS-CoV-2 positivity among CalSRVSS participants was largely consistent with overall California COVID-19 surveillance data, supporting the idea that sentinel surveillance can provide an accurate representation of trends (3)
Summary
State and local health departments established the California Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and Respiratory Virus Sentinel Surveillance System to conduct enhanced surveillance for SARS-CoV-2 and other respiratory pathogens at sentinel outpatient testing sites in 10 counties throughout California, USA. During March 2020, two pilot COVID-19 sentinel surveillance projects in California (1,2) detected severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). As part of CDPH routine influenza surveillance program, laboratory data on influenza strains/subtypes and other respiratory viruses are reported in aggregate from a system of sentinel laboratories; results are not linked to patient data (5). As the COVID-19 pandemic emerged in California during early 2020, CDPH implemented an additional surveillance system to collect enhanced patient data and respiratory specimens for more comprehensive testing. The objectives of the California SARS-CoV-2 and Respiratory Virus Sentinel Surveillance System (CalSRVSS) are to monitor community transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in outpatient settings; provide enhanced patient data, including race/ethnicity, occupation, and concurrent conditions; and to concurrently monitor circulation of other respiratory viruses. Throughout the pandemic, far fewer cases of seasonal influenza occurred than would have been expected according to passive reporting systems in California from previous years (4,5)
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