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Influenzanet, or Gripenet, is a syndromic surveillance system that monitors the activity of influenza-like_illness (ILI) with the help of volunteers via the Internet. This innovative surveillance system is based on the voluntary online participation of the population who, on a weekly basis, respond to an internet questionnaire about flu symptoms.

During the winter 2003/2004 season, the Netherlands and Belgium launched the first Influenzanet - The Great Influenza Survey - which attracted over 30,000 participants in the first year. The Dutch Great Influenza Survey has been carried out yearly in the Netherlands and Belgium, since then. In Portugal it was implemented in the 2005/2006 season, the Gripenet; followed by the Italian Fluweb in 2008. With the threat of a new pandemic influenza, in 2009, three other countries joined this project, with the Gripenet Brasil, in Brasil; Reporta in Mexico; and the Fluweb in the United Kingdom.

How it works


influenzanet

Any resident of the participating countries can register by completing an online application form containing various medical, geographic, and behavioural questions. Every week, during the flu season, participants are asked to select from a list of symptoms the ones they have experienced since their previous visit to the website. Participation is stimulated by email newsletters, online educational materials, competitions and presentations, and other educational activities of ILI on a given day, divided by the number of active participants on that day.

A case of ILI is defined based on a set of reported symptoms: acute onset of fever of >=38ºC, plus muscle pain, plus one of the following: cough, sore throat, and/or chest pain. The daily incidence of ILI is determined by the number of participants with an onset.

The results of the influenzanet closely matches the official EISS data.