Virology & Mycology
Open Access
ISSN: 2161-0517
ISSN: 2161-0517
Mbayame Ndiaye Niang, Mamadou Aliou Barry, Ndongo Dia, Boris Gildas Hedible, Fatoumata Diene Sarr, Ibrahim Omar Ba, Cheikh Talla, Babacar Ndoye and Vincent Richard
Pasteur Institute of Dakar, Senegal
Ministry of Health, Senegal
World Health Organization, Senegal
Posters & Accepted Abstracts: Virol Mycol
Increased surveillance in recent years has begun to fill in some of the huge information gaps regarding influenza in Africa. Now, the challenge is how to sustain influenza surveillance in African countries where many other diseases are priorities for health authorities. In Senegal, since 2013 an integrated approach for monitoring febrile diseases was established by Pasteur Institute of Dakar (IPD) and the Ministry of Health. We present the challenges and steps involved in improving the influenza sentinel surveillance network in Senegal. Surveillance was based on data collected by sentinel general practitioners (SGP). The SGPs report the number of cases and the total number of patient visits on a daily basis. They were expected to communicate encrypted data by cellular telephone. Regarding case definition criteria, fever was the first symptom targeted. Four diseases associated with fever were selected in the present surveillance: Confirmed malaria cases; influenza-like illness and arboviruses infections. Samples were collected from consenting ILI patients at each sentinel site and diagnostic is performed by multiplex PCR using CDC protocol for influenza virus detection. Weekly reports were prepared and transmitted by MoH to district public health staff. 33% of ILI has been confirmed as flu. The children were the most affected (43%). Having an integrated monitoring approach can be the best strategy to monetize the limited resources and then to perpetuate the surveillance in low resource countries. Syndromic surveillance can provides rapid benefits in terms of epidemic prevention and public health decision-making.
Email: niang@pasteur.sn