Abstract
In 1983 the sentinel laboratory network was established because of the need to describe the epidemiological evolution of infectious diseases. During the study period of 30 years (1983–2013), microbiology laboratories reported on weekly basis the laboratory diagnosed cases for a selection of infectious diseases. This resulted in a large longitudinal laboratory based database allowing to provide trends over time and distribution by person and place. During this period, adaptations to data collection were made due to changes in diagnostic methods and public health priorities, introduction and application of digital revolution, and multiple reorganizations of the laboratories. Since the surveillance network is dynamic, it necessitates a continuous evaluation to ensure that, over time, it continues to be representative of the general epidemiological trends in the country. Secondly the aim is to examine the robustness and stability of this surveillance system. Here we demonstrated that the flexibility of the data collection methodology by the sentinel laboratory network is unique and that adaptations do not affect the capacity of the system to follow trends. Therefore, the surveillance by this network is representative of the current epidemiological situation in Belgium. To our knowledge, no such surveillance network with such a long-term follow-up and demonstrated stability for multiple infectious diseases in the general population was earlier described. Furthermore, expected trends due to the implementation of vaccination or other events were accurately detected. The collected data obtained from this network allows interesting comparisons with other national and international information sources.
Highlights
In Belgium, the sentinel laboratory network was established in 1983 in order to obtain information on the epidemiology of infectious diseases [1]
We could not determine whether the academic and non-academic hospital related laboratories, and non-hospital related laboratories participating to the network are proportionally representative from the laboratories performing microbiological diagnoses in Belgium
The coverage, a measure of the proportion of target population included in the surveillance system was previously studied [9, 10] demonstrating that the participating laboratories were performing more than 50% of all tests, and that the coverage was constant in Belgium between 1999 and 2002 [9] and between 2007 and 2012 [10]
Summary
In Belgium, the sentinel laboratory network was established in 1983 in order to obtain information on the epidemiology of infectious diseases [1]. 30 Years of Surveillance of Infectious Diseases by the Sentinel Laboratory Network. Test coverage was in this study calculated by the ratio of reimbursed tests performed by participating laboratories to the total number of tests performed. These results indicate that the network is sensitive and representative for the surveillance of the selected pathogens. The lack of impact of these changes on the robustness of the longitudinal surveillance of this network was investigated by a detailed description of the trend changes for a series of infectious diseases
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.
