Italian vaccination surveillance system improves reporting of infections.

2002 NOV 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Maria G. Essig, MS, ELS, senior medical writer - A sentinel surveillance network set up in Italy to monitor vaccine-preventable infections, such as measles and mumps, was more effective at identifying disease cases than a statutory notification process, according to researchers in Rome.

"In Italy vaccine-preventable diseases are subject to statutory notification, but they are often unreported," said Marta Luisa Ciofi Degli Atti at the Istituto Superiore di Sanita in Rome and colleagues throughout Italy. "In January, 2000, a pediatric sentinel network was launched, with the aim of monitoring in a timely and accurate way the geographic and temporal trends of vaccine-preventable diseases."

The surveillance system involves the volunteer efforts of National Health System pediatricians who report cases monthly based on defined clinical criteria. Of 7276 National Health System pediatricians, an average of 468 per month volunteered for the program during 2000, allowing surveillance of 371,670 children younger than 15 years (out of a total of 8,347,804 children).

Using data supplied by the pediatricians, the investigators found that the annual incidence of varicella was 5345 per 100,000 children, mumps was 1972, pertussis 279, rubella 108, and measles 62, numbers that were three to seven times greater than those found through the statutory notification process. The statutory data from southern Italy was consistently lower than that obtained by the new surveillance system.

Data received under the new system revealed that the percentages of vaccinated people infected with measles and rubella were 21% and 17%, ...