Grant: Catalyst Grant: Pandemic Preparedness

Across Canada, there is a network of special sentinel physicians who act as watchtowers for influenza illness each winter. They report to public health and, in this way, public health gets an idea of the timing and severity of influenza in the community. But since many people in the community with influenza do not see a doctor, or are delayed in seeking care, the sentinel physician network may not give a complete picture and may miss the earliest cases. During a pandemic, earliest possible detection of influenza activity could be critical to prevention and control. With internet access, households and families could report directly and easily to public health as soon as influenza-like illness starts, without having to go through a physician to be counted. Some households could become watchtowers and contribute to public health monitoring. To make this manageable, we would like to assess whether a sentinel household system, with web-based reporting of ILI (influenza-like illness) directly by a defined network of households, is possible. If it is, a sentinel household system could also become an important platform for other evaluation and information exchange during a pandemic when we will have much to rapidly learn about the new virus - such as public attitudes and concerns, which groups are affected first and worst and how well vaccine or other response measures can protect. Our goal is to first see if a sentinel household system can be established and if so, what that would take.