Influenza >> Surveillance Data >> Kaiser Syndromic Surveillance

Kaiser Permanente Northwest: Respiratory Illness Syndromic Surveillance

On this page:

• Background
• Case definition
• Reporting and forms
• Surveillance data

Background

The Center for Health Research of Kaiser Permanente Northwest and the Oregon Department of Human Services, Acute and Communicable Disease Prevention Program are collaborating to track out-patient visits related to acute respiratory illness. This "syndromic surveillance" project for respiratory illness began in October 2004. The results of this population based surveillance are posted each week on the DHS web site; this site also includes data from the out-patient influenza-like illness surveillance provider network and the laboratory based reporting system which help track the magnitude and duration of the influenza season.

Kaiser Permanente Northwest provides health care for 340,000 Oregonians and another 130,000 people living in southwest Washington. Most Kaiser members live in Clackamas, Clark (Washington), Marion, Multnomah, and Washington counties. Since Health plan members avoid out-of-pocket expenses by seeking their health care at a Kaiser facility rates of illness calculated from Kaiser records closely approximate population-based incidence; the Kaiser electronic medical record makes analysis of this data possible shortly after it is collected.

Reporting weeks correspond to the CDC reporting week of Sunday through Saturday. This year the "flu surveillance season" began with week 40, which ended October 4, 2008.

Case definition

Surveillance data

• Admission and outpatient data 2008-09
• Admission and outpatient data 2007-08
• Admission and outpatient data 2006-07
• Admission and outpatient data 2005-06
• Admission and outpatient data 2004-05