Publications by authors named "Lea Gur-Arie"
BackgroundA new respiratory virus surveillance platform, based on nationwide hospital laboratory data, was established in Israel during the COVID-19 pandemic.AimWe aimed to evaluate the performance of this platform with respect to the detection of influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) from week 36 in 2020 to week 15 in 2023, and how it fits with the World Health Organization (WHO) mosaic surveillance framework.MethodsData of respiratory samples from hospitalised patients sent for laboratory confirmation of influenza virus or RSV from 25 general hospital laboratories nationwide were collected.
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- The study analyzes the resurgence of seasonal influenza in Israel post-SARS-CoV-2 and compares the strains circulating among hospitalized patients to those in the vaccine from the previous winter season.
- Researchers examined samples from over 16,000 patients and found that 7.5% tested positive for influenza, with the A(H3N2) strain predominating in the 2021-2022 season, while the A(H1N1)pdm09 strain became more prevalent the following winter.
- The findings suggest a unique trend in Israel, where the circulating A(H1N1)pdm09 strain demonstrated significant differences from the vaccine strain, indicating potential viral adaptation and lower vaccine efficacy
BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic presented new challenges for the existing respiratory surveillance systems, and adaptations were implemented. Systematic assessment of the syndromic and sentinel surveillance platforms during the pandemic is essential for understanding the value of each platform in the context of an emerging pathogen with rapid global spread.AimWe aimed to evaluate systematically the performance of various respiratory syndromic surveillance platforms and the sentinel surveillance system in Israel from 1 January to 31 December 2020.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Guidelines for pandemic preparedness emphasize the role of sentinel and syndromic surveillance in monitoring pandemic spread.
Objectives: To examine advantages and obstacles of utilizing a sentinel influenza surveillance system to monitor community severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) activity based on Israel's experience from mid-March to mid-May 2020.
Methods: Several modifications were applied to the influenza surveillance system.