Implementing The Integrated Sentinel Surveillance Of Influenza And Other Respiratory Viruses Of Epidemic And Pandemic Potential By The Global Influenza Surveillance And Response System

Implementing the integrated sentinel surveillance of influenza and other respiratory viruses of epidemic and pandemic potential by the Global Influenza Surveillance and Response System

Integrated surveillance in the context of the GISRS refers to expanding GISRS functions to include non-influenza respiratory viruses with epidemic or pandemic potential in order to inform public health interventions. Integrated surveillance encompasses the whole process, from the systematic screening of individuals, collection of respiratory specimens, testing, sequencing, data and information sharing and analysis. This document provides guidance on the surveillance standards and operational approaches, as well as practical considerations for the integration of SARS-CoV-2 and RSV surveillance based on standards developed for influenza, essential for an expanded GISRS that aims to strengthen national sentinel surveillance capacities for respiratory viruses as part of the mosaic of surveillance systems in a country, and in line with the overall global architecture of health emergency preparedness, response and resilience for strong national integrated disease, threat and vulnerability surveillance. This updated guidance stands in as the new guidance and standards for integrated surveillance, superseding these prior guidance documents: the End-to-end integration of SARS-CoV-2 and influenza sentinel surveillance: revised interim guidance, the Global epidemiological surveillance standards for influenza, and the WHO strategy for global Respiratory Syncytial Virus Surveillance project based on the influenza platform.

Respiratory syncytial virus sequencing considerations for an expanded Global Influenza Surveillance and Response System

In recent years, rapid progress has been made in the development of new pharmaceutical interventions against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), including monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), vaccines and antivirals. Both passive immunization and active immunization against RSV have now been recommended for infants and older adults in several countries. The ongoing surveillance of RSV viruses is thus vital for identifying the appropriateness of diagnostics and interventions. Establishing a baseline understanding of RSV sequence diversity prior to the widespread rollout of immunization will help to inform the development of new diagnostic and therapeutic products, facilitate assessment of the effectiveness of immunization programmes, better understand viral diversity and evolution, and assess the potential impact of RSV variants on the effectiveness of interventions. This document outlines a number of practical considerations regarding the scale and quality of sequencing. It also outlines the range of next generation sequencing (NGS) technologies suitable for RSV whole genome sequencing (WGS).

Integrated sentinel surveillance of influenza and SARS-CoV-2 and the development of the Global Influenza Surveillance and Response System Plus