Background
General practitioners play an important role in the detection and
clinical management of influenza. The Australian Sentinel Practice
Research Network (ASPREN) has been collecting data from sentinel
GPs on selected conditions, including influenza-like illness (ILI),
since 1991 to inform public health authorities of communicable
disease activity in the community.
Discussion
Data captured by the three separate surveillance systems provide
complementary information regarding influenza in the Australian
population.
Results
ASPREN recorded peak ILI rates of 47 per 1000 consultations in
week 30 (ending 29 July) 2007 and 34 per 1000 consultations in week
36 (ending 7 September) 2008. Similar trends in incidence were
seen in FluTracking cough and fever rates, ASPREN data in New
South Wales and National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System
laboratory notifications.
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