Abstract
In the spring of 2009, a novel strain of H1N1 swine-origin influenza A virus (S-OIV) emerged in Mexico and the United States, and soon after was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization. This work examined the ability of real-time reports of influenza-like illness (ILI) symptoms and rapid influenza diagnostic tests (RIDTs) to approximate the spatiotemporal distribution of PCR-confirmed S-OIV cases for the purposes of focusing local intervention efforts. Cluster and age adjusted relative risk patterns of ILI, RIDT, and S-OIV were assessed at a fine spatial scale at different time and space extents within Cameron County, Texas on the US-Mexico border. Space-time patterns of ILI and RIDT were found to effectively characterize the areas with highest geographical risk of S-OIV within the first two weeks of the outbreak. Based on these results, ILI and/or RIDT may prove to be acceptable indicators of the location of S-OIV hotspots. Given that S-OIV data is often difficult to obtain real-time during an outbreak; these findings may be of use to public health officials targeting prevention and response efforts during future flu outbreaks.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 1230-1239 |
Number of pages | 10 |
Journal | Health and Place |
Volume | 16 |
Issue number | 6 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Nov 2010 |
Keywords
- Cluster
- GIS
- Influenza like illness
- Intervention
- Rapid antigen tests
- Swine flu
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Health(social science)
- Sociology and Political Science
- Life-span and Life-course Studies