Respiratory Watch: Development of a provincial system for respiratory syncytial virus surveillance in Nova Scotia, 2005-2008.

Objective: Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the most common cause of severe lower respiratory tract infection in young children and is increasingly recognized as a cause of influenza-like illness in those older than 65 years of age. A surveillance system to provide timely local information about RSV activity in Nova Scotia (NS) is described.

Methods: A case report form was developed for weekly reporting of all laboratory isolates of RSV at diagnostic laboratories around the province.