Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34081752›Full record

ArticlePloS one2021

Assessing the appropriateness of the Moving Epidemic Method and WHO Average Curve Method for the syndromic surveillance of acute respiratory infection in Mauritius.

Mohabeer Teeluck, Atsushi Samura

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in PloS one, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
9citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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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

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3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

9 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Evaluation of the Automated and Early Detection of Seasonal Epidemic Onset and Burden Levels (AEDSEO) method for respiratory surveillance using data from 21 European countries.Euro surveillance : bulletin Europeen sur les maladies transmissibles = European communicable disease bulletin · 2026
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

2 authors.

Mohabeer TeeluckCommunicable Disease Control Unit, Ministry of Health and Wellness, Port Louis, Republic of Mauritius.ORCID 0000-0002-5985-3441
Atsushi SamuraWorld Health Organization Country Office for Mauritius, Port Louis, Republic of Mauritius.

Funding

World Health Organization 001
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionMauritius introduced Acute respiratory infection (ARI) syndromic surveillance in 2007. The Moving Epidemic Method (MEM) and the World Health Organization Average Curve Method (WHO ACM) have been used widely in several countries to establish thresholds to determine the seasonality of acute respiratory infections. This study aimed to evaluate the appropriateness of these tools for ARI syndromic surveillance in Mauritius, where two or more waves are observed.

methodThe proportion of attendance due to acute respiratory infections was identified as the transmissibility indicator to describe seasonality using the Moving Epidemic Method and the WHO Average Curve Method. The proportion was obtained from weekly outpatient data between 2012 and 2018 collected from the sentinel acute respiratory infections surveillance. A cross-validation analysis was carried out. The resulting indicators of the goodness of fit model were used to assess the robustness of the seasonal/epidemic threshold of both the Moving Epidemic Method and WHO Average Curve Method. Additionally, a comparative analysis examined the integrity of the thresholds without the year 2017.

resultThe cross-validation analysis demonstrated no statistically significant differences between the means scores of the indicators when comparing the two waves/seasons curves of WHO ACM and MEM. The only exception being that the Wilcoxon sign rank test strongly supported that the specificity mean score of the two waves/seasons curve for WHO ACM outweighed that of its corresponding wave model for the MEM (P = 0.002). The comparative analysis with 2017 data showed the value of the epidemic threshold remained the same regardless of the methods and the number of seasonal waves.

conclusionThe two waves models of the Moving Epidemic Method and WHO Average Curve Method could be deployed for acute respiratory infection syndromic surveillance in Mauritius, considering that two or more activity peaks are observed in a season.

Indexed as

Sentinel SurveillanceAcute DiseaseEpidemicsHumansInfluenza, HumanMauritiusRespiratory Tract InfectionsSeasonsSeverity of Illness IndexWorld Health Organization

Identifiers

PMID34081752
PMCPMC8174728

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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.