An evaluation of the Zambia influenza sentinel surveillance system, 2011–2017

Simusika, Paul; Tempia, Stefano; Chentulo, Edward; Polansky, Lauren; Mazaba, Mazyanga Lucy; Ndumba, Idah; Mbewe, Quinn K.; Monze, Mwaka

During the evaluation period, of the seven data indicators, six had good performance and one had moderate performance ( Table 2 ). Approximately 70% of identified SARI cases were enrolled in the surveillance program, while the enrollment target was 100%. The enrollment target for ILI cases was exceeded (140% of the target of 5 cases per week and per facility). More than 90% of CIF were accurately completed for key variables (including site, age/date of birth, sex, date of consultation/admission, date of symptoms onset, date of sample collection and signs and symptoms included in the case definitions) and more than 90% of samples collected had available influenza results and a positive ribonucleic protein result (an indicator of presence of human mucosal cells in the sample). The proportion of collected variables included in the WHO minimum data collection standard was 82.3%. Information on the use of antivirals and the presence of some underlying medical conditions were not included in the patients' CIFs. The mean score for data quality and completeness was 2.9 (moderate to good performance) ( Table 1) .