electronic outbreak surveillance in germany a first evaluation for nosocomial norovirus outbreaks德国电子疫情监测院内诺瓦克病毒爆发的第一次评估.pdfVIP

Electronic Outbreak Surveillance in Germany: A First Evaluation for Nosocomial Norovirus Outbreaks 1 ¨ 1 2 1,2,3 4 Anja M. Hauri *, Hans-Jurgen Westbrock , Herman Claus , Steffen Geis , Siegfried Giernat , Michael Forbbohm5, Helmut Uphoff1 1 Hesse State Health Office, Dillenburg, Germany, 2 Robert Koch-Institut, Berlin, Germany, 3 Postgraduate Training in Applied Epidemiology (PAE), Robert Koch Institute, Berlin, Germany, 4 Public Health Authority, Main-Kinzig Kreis, Gelnhausen, Germany, 5 Public Health Authority, Wiesbaden, Germany Abstract Background: In Germany, surveillance for infectious disease outbreaks is integrated into an electronic surveillance system. For 2007, the national surveillance database contains case-based information on 201,224 norovirus cases, three-quarters of which are linked to outbreaks. We evaluated the data quality of the national database in reflecting nosocomial norovirus outbreak (NNO) data available in 19 Hessian local public health authorities (LPHAs) and the influence of differences between LPHA’s follow-up procedures for laboratory notifications of Norovirus positive stool samples on outbreak under- ascertainment. Methods: Data on NNO beginning in 2007 and notified to the 19 LPHAs were extracted from the national database, investigated regarding internal validity and compared to data collected from LPHAs for a study on NNO control. LPHAs were questioned whether they routinely contacted all persons for whom a laboratory diagnosis of norovirus infection was notified. The number of outbreaks per 1,000 hospital beds and the number of cases within NNOs for acute care and rehabilitation hosp