New Influenza Surveillance Tool Supports Communities

LAKEVILLE, MINN. [September 12, 2018] - ImageTrend announces influenza tracking using Continuum® software in preparation for the upcoming flu season¹. As each incident report is posted by EMS care providers, Continuum automatically begins to monitor the aggregate data for developing trends or surges in influenza-like symptoms. Sudden spikes or increased concentration of incidents can trigger Continuum’s alerting function.

Utilizing Continuum to track Influenza can help emergency response and public health personnel understand where and when outbreaks are occurring, as well as aid in the decision process of allocating valuable resources based on changing priorities.

“Continuum is a powerful tool for agencies wanting to get ahead of viral outbreaks,” said Morgan Anderson, ImageTrend Epidemiologist. “By monitoring retrospective and prospective data, organizations will be more informed when heading into the upcoming flu season.”

Continuous year-round monitoring of influenza-like symptoms can assist health agencies prepare for a flu crisis. This is not only crucial for the seasonal flu, but also in monitoring flu activity that can lead to epidemic or pandemic events at any time throughout the year.

According to the CDC, the 2017-2018 flu season was considered a severe season, with the highest hospitalization rates since 2009¹. Medical experts are predicting this upcoming flu season to be worse than previous years and the upcoming vaccine to again have low efficacy, causing additional strain on pre-hospital assets².

Continuum actively monitors real-time EMS data and generates visual diagrams, graphs and dashboards–all of which track incidents by response, patient assessment, geographical mapping and more. Additionally, when certain criteria are met, Continuum sends alerts regarding possible cases through email or text messaging - either on a per-incident or summary basis - to notify designated personnel.

For more information on Continuum, contact ImageTrend at sales@imagetrend.com, or visit www.ImageTrend.com/Continuum.

References:

1. https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/67/wr/mm6722a4.htm
2. https://www.healio.com/infectious-disease/influenza/news/in-the-journals/{7bd83c8f-b710-4fdc-af05-2646c2b7eeaf}/model-predicts-new-h3n2-flu-vaccine-component-will-be-just-as-ineffective