The University of Calgary is leading one of the most comprehensive, active, hospital-based infectious disease surveillance systems for children in Canada that the country has ever had. The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) selected the network, Surveillance Program for the Rapid IdeNtification and TracKing of Infectious Diseases in kidS, or "SPRINT-KIDS", led by Dr. Stephen Freedman, MD, to monitor infections caused by SARS-CoV-2, influenza and Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV), and to gather data on vaccine effectiveness and safety in children.
Stephen Freedman leads SPRINT-KIDS, a comprehensive new hospital-based infectious disease surveillance system for children in Canada Leah Hennel, Alberta Health Services. Photo Credit: Leah Hennel, Alberta Health Services
"Our surveillance system is able to track trends among children seeking hospital care due to the most important respiratory viruses in a timely manner, from coast-to-coast across Canada," says Freedman, a pediatric emergency medicine physician at the Alberta Children's Hospital in Calgary, and clinician-scientist at the Cumming School of Medicine. "We are able to rapidly identify and inform clinicians, public health leaders and the public about changes in the epidemiology of common respiratory infections like COVID, influenza and RSV."
SPRINT-KIDS includes 15 hospitals across Canada, from B.C. to N.L., that are members of the well-established Pediatric Emergency Research Canada (PERC) network.
"We are using the PERC network infrastructure, one of the world's most highly regarded pediatric research networks," says Freedman. "SPRINT-KIDS brings together pediatric emergency medicine researchers, infectious disease and vaccine experts, medical microbiologists and hospital-based pediatricians to identify what's happening at the individual patient and pathogen level while simultaneously collecting data to evaluate vaccine effectiveness and safety with the goal of improving child health throughout the country."
Network will enable sharing of information about illness prevalence
The network advances Canada's position as a leader in pediatric respiratory virus surveillance.
It will identify pockets of high virus activity and track the movement of viruses across the country to inform communities of the timing and burden of these seasonal illnesses.
"This season we were able to share with PHAC data identifying the surge in RSV followed by influenza, while also being able to collect data which we will analyze on less well-known pathogens like mycoplasma, which was particularly prevalent in the fall and early winter," says Freedman.
The monitoring system that has been established tracks symptoms, illness severity, vaccination status, medical interventions and outcomes across a broad range of respiratory pathogens to provide a comprehensive understanding of the burden of each virus and the effectiveness of vaccines to prevent adverse outcomes. This knowledge is used to inform family and patients' choices regarding vaccination while optimizing the care provided.
Data from the network will be included on the Government of Canada's respiratory virus surveillance report.
Stephen Freedman is a professor in the departments of Paediatrics, Emergency Medicine and the associate dean Clinical Trials (Health) at the Cumming School of Medicine (CSM). He is a member of the Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute and the O'Brien Institute of Public Health at the CSM. He is also the Alberta Children's Hospital Foundation Professor in Child Health and Wellness.
