Influenza Epidemiology Research | Clinical Futures
Pandemic influenza continues to be a global threat. Due to the unpredictable timing and nature of a pandemic, advance planning is needed to ensure that the necessary surveillance and applied research can be quickly deployed in the event of pandemic.
Thus, we are in the process of developing a multicenter network to accomplish this. Our goals for the surveillance system are to:
The network will conduct active surveillance of all patients hospitalized with influenza-like illness during a pandemic, collect blood and respiratory secretions to characterize viral and immunologic responses, as well as perform observational studies of available pandemic influenza vaccines and/or antiviral medications.
Funding: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Please contact Susan Coffin, MD, MPH, CHOP Attending Physician and Clinical Director of Infectious Diseases, for more information about this line of research.