Evidence map›Paper›PMID 26859411›Full record

ArticleInfluenza and other respiratory viruses2016

Forecasting influenza outbreak dynamics in Melbourne from Internet search query surveillance data.

Robert Moss, Alexander Zarebski, Peter Dawson, James M McCaw

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Influenza and other respiratory viruses, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 21 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
21citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

21 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Article
  8. Article
  9. Article
  10. Article
  11. Article
  12. Article
  13. Article
  14. Article
  15. Article
  16. Model selection for seasonal influenza forecasting.Infectious Disease Modelling · 2017
    Article
  17. Article
  18. Article
  19. Article
  20. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Robert MossCentre for Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia.
Alexander ZarebskiSchool of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia.
Peter DawsonLand Personnel Protection Branch, Land Division, Defence Science and Technology Group, Melbourne, Australia.
James M McCawCentre for Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundAccurate forecasting of seasonal influenza epidemics is of great concern to healthcare providers in temperate climates, as these epidemics vary substantially in their size, timing and duration from year to year, making it a challenge to deliver timely and proportionate responses. Previous studies have shown that Bayesian estimation techniques can accurately predict when an influenza epidemic will peak many weeks in advance, using existing surveillance data, but these methods must be tailored both to the target population and to the surveillance system.

objectivesOur aim was to evaluate whether forecasts of similar accuracy could be obtained for metropolitan Melbourne (Australia).

methodsWe used the bootstrap particle filter and a mechanistic infection model to generate epidemic forecasts for metropolitan Melbourne (Australia) from weekly Internet search query surveillance data reported by Google Flu Trends for 2006-14. RESULTS AND

conclusionsOptimal observation models were selected from hundreds of candidates using a novel approach that treats forecasts akin to receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. We show that the timing of the epidemic peak can be accurately predicted 4-6 weeks in advance, but that the magnitude of the epidemic peak and the overall burden are much harder to predict. We then discuss how the infection and observation models and the filtering process may be refined to improve forecast robustness, thereby improving the utility of these methods for healthcare decision support.

Indexed as

AustraliaCitiesDisease OutbreaksForecastingHumansInfluenza, HumanInternetROC CurveBayesian predictionepidemic forecastinginfluenza

Identifiers

PMID26859411
PMCPMC4910172

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.