University of Calgary chosen to lead infectious disease surveillance system for children

The University of Calgary is leading a national program tracking pediatric infectious diseases like COVID-19, influenza and RSV.

A group of University of Calgary scientists has been given an important role in preventing the spread of infectious diseases in Canadian children.

The Public Health Agency of Canada has chosen the surveillance program for the rapid identification and tracking of infectious diseases in kids (SPRINT-KIDS) network, led by the school’s Dr. Stephen Freedman M.D., to monitor the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2, influenza and respiratory syncytial virus infections in children.

The network will also investigate the effectiveness and safety of vaccines for children.

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To do this, the team will examine data from 15 hospitals across Canada that are all members of the pediatric emergency research Canada (PERC) network.

“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,” Freedman said in a news release.

“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.”

Freedman says SPRINT-KIDS will bring together an assortment researchers and experts to identify current conditions and evaluate countermeasures such as vaccines.

He says the goal is to improve the health of Canadian children, coast-to-coast.

It’s already providing valuable data, Freedman said.

“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.”

SPRINT-KIDS also identifies areas of high-virus activity and tracks the movement of viruses across Canada, information that can be used to help health professionals at the community level.

It also gathers data to develop a full understanding of viruses, how they work and how safe and effective vaccines are.

The team’s work will be incorporated into the Government of Canada’s respiratory virus surveillance report.