Alert system to detect possible school-based outbreaks of influenza-like illness

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Emerging Infectious Diseases
Volume 17, Number 1–January 2011
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/EID/index.htm

Expedited posting
Mann P, O’Connell E, Zhang G, Llau A, Rico E, Lequen FC.
Alert system to detect possible school-based outbreaks of influenza-like illness.
Emerg Infect Dis. 2011 Feb; [Epub ahead of print]

Abstract
To evaluate the usefulness of school absentee data in identifying outbreaks as part of syndromic surveillance, we examined data collected from public schools in Miami-Dade County, Florida, USA. An innovative automated alert system captured information about school-specific absenteeism to detect and provide real-time notification of possible outbreaks of influenza-like illness.