Leveraging the influenza sentinel surveillance platform for SARS-CoV-2 monitoring in Bangladesh (2020–2024): a prospective sentinel surveillance studyResearch in context

Summary: Background: There is limited global evidence on whether influenza sentinel surveillance platforms can be effectively adapted for long-term SARS-CoV-2 monitoring in low-resource contexts. We explored the utility of the hospital-based influenza sentinel surveillance (HBIS) platform for monit...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Md Ariful Islam, Md Zakiul Hassan, Zubair Akhtar, Saju Bhuiya, Tanzir Ahmed Shuvo, Probir Kumar Ghosh, Asadullah, Md Abdullah Al Jubayer Biswas, Mustafizur Rahman, Mohammad Jubair, Mst Noorjahan Begum, Yeasir Karim, Mohammed Ziaur Rahman, Mohammad Enayet Hossain, Mohammad Niaz Morshed Khan, Tahmina Shirin, Shah Niaz Md Rubaid Anwar, Ahmed Nawsher Alam, Mohammad Ferdous Rahman Sarker, Monalisa, Manjur Hossain Khan Jony, Mahbubur Rahman, Mahmudur Rahman, Mohammad Abdul Aleem, Fahmida Chowdhury
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-10-01
Series:The Lancet Regional Health - Southeast Asia
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772368225001283
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849228317543104512
author Md Ariful Islam
Md Zakiul Hassan
Zubair Akhtar
Saju Bhuiya
Tanzir Ahmed Shuvo
Probir Kumar Ghosh
Asadullah
Md Abdullah Al Jubayer Biswas
Mustafizur Rahman
Mohammad Jubair
Mst Noorjahan Begum
Yeasir Karim
Mohammed Ziaur Rahman
Mohammad Enayet Hossain
Mohammad Niaz Morshed Khan
Tahmina Shirin
Shah Niaz Md Rubaid Anwar
Ahmed Nawsher Alam
Mohammad Ferdous Rahman Sarker
Monalisa
Manjur Hossain Khan Jony
Mahbubur Rahman
Mahmudur Rahman
Mohammad Abdul Aleem
Fahmida Chowdhury
author_facet Md Ariful Islam
Md Zakiul Hassan
Zubair Akhtar
Saju Bhuiya
Tanzir Ahmed Shuvo
Probir Kumar Ghosh
Asadullah
Md Abdullah Al Jubayer Biswas
Mustafizur Rahman
Mohammad Jubair
Mst Noorjahan Begum
Yeasir Karim
Mohammed Ziaur Rahman
Mohammad Enayet Hossain
Mohammad Niaz Morshed Khan
Tahmina Shirin
Shah Niaz Md Rubaid Anwar
Ahmed Nawsher Alam
Mohammad Ferdous Rahman Sarker
Monalisa
Manjur Hossain Khan Jony
Mahbubur Rahman
Mahmudur Rahman
Mohammad Abdul Aleem
Fahmida Chowdhury
author_sort Md Ariful Islam
collection DOAJ
description Summary: Background: There is limited global evidence on whether influenza sentinel surveillance platforms can be effectively adapted for long-term SARS-CoV-2 monitoring in low-resource contexts. We explored the utility of the hospital-based influenza sentinel surveillance (HBIS) platform for monitoring SARS-CoV-2 in Bangladesh by comparing SARS-CoV-2 detection in HBIS platform with national COVID-19 platform and assessing how its integration into influenza surveillance aligns with national trends. Methods: From March 2020 to December 2024, we analysed data from patients with severe acute respiratory infection (SARI) and influenza-like illness (ILI) enrolled in HBIS. Socio-demographic and clinical data were recorded, and nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal swabs were tested for influenza and SARS-CoV-2 using rRT-PCR. Whole-genome sequencing was performed on a subset of SARS-CoV-2–positive samples. Data from national COVID-19 platform were obtained from the Directorate General of Health Services, Bangladesh, and were compared with HBIS platform data using epidemic curves and Pearson correlation analysis. Findings: Among 25,366 (SARI: 20,226; ILI: 5140) patients, 13.0% (3310) tested positive for influenza, 6.6% (1680) for SARS-CoV-2, and 0.2% (43) were co-infected. SARS-CoV-2 positivity in HBIS (6.8%), including 0.2% co-infections, was lower than the national average (13.1%), but showed a strong correlation with national trends (Pearson r = 0.86, P < 0.001). Sequencing of 234 SARS-CoV-2 strains detected the beta and delta variants in April and May 2021, respectively, and omicron subvariants circulating from 2022 to 2024, aligning with the national COVID-19 platform. Interpretation: SARS-CoV-2 positivity trends in HBIS platform closely aligned with the national COVID-19 platform, demonstrating its potential as a sustainable platform for COVID-19 monitoring. Our findings underscore the feasibility of influenza sentinel surveillance as an early warning system for future COVID-19 outbreaks or other respiratory viruses of pandemic concern in Bangladesh and similar settings. Funding: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Atlanta, Georgia, USA (U01GH002259).
format Article
id doaj-art-adcfe9de13454cae9d9bfb8ac108d7b5
institution Kabale University
issn 2772-3682
language English
publishDate 2025-10-01
publisher Elsevier
record_format Article
series The Lancet Regional Health - Southeast Asia
spelling doaj-art-adcfe9de13454cae9d9bfb8ac108d7b52025-08-23T04:49:50ZengElsevierThe Lancet Regional Health - Southeast Asia2772-36822025-10-014110065710.1016/j.lansea.2025.100657Leveraging the influenza sentinel surveillance platform for SARS-CoV-2 monitoring in Bangladesh (2020–2024): a prospective sentinel surveillance studyResearch in contextMd Ariful Islam0Md Zakiul Hassan1Zubair Akhtar2Saju Bhuiya3Tanzir Ahmed Shuvo4Probir Kumar Ghosh5 Asadullah6Md Abdullah Al Jubayer Biswas7Mustafizur Rahman8Mohammad Jubair9Mst Noorjahan Begum10Yeasir Karim11Mohammed Ziaur Rahman12Mohammad Enayet Hossain13Mohammad Niaz Morshed Khan14Tahmina Shirin15Shah Niaz Md Rubaid Anwar16Ahmed Nawsher Alam17Mohammad Ferdous Rahman Sarker18 Monalisa19Manjur Hossain Khan Jony20Mahbubur Rahman21Mahmudur Rahman22Mohammad Abdul Aleem23Fahmida Chowdhury24International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b), Dhaka, 1212, Bangladesh; School of Population Health, University of New South Wales (UNSW), Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia; Corresponding author. Infectious Diseases Division, icddr,b, Dhaka, 1212, Bangladesh.International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b), Dhaka, 1212, Bangladesh; Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, UKInternational Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b), Dhaka, 1212, Bangladesh; Biosecurity Program, Kirby Institute, University of New South Wales (UNSW), Sydney, NSW, 2052, AustraliaInternational Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b), Dhaka, 1212, BangladeshInternational Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b), Dhaka, 1212, BangladeshInternational Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b), Dhaka, 1212, BangladeshInternational Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b), Dhaka, 1212, BangladeshInternational Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b), Dhaka, 1212, BangladeshInternational Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b), Dhaka, 1212, BangladeshInternational Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b), Dhaka, 1212, BangladeshInternational Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b), Dhaka, 1212, BangladeshInternational Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b), Dhaka, 1212, BangladeshInternational Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b), Dhaka, 1212, BangladeshInternational Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b), Dhaka, 1212, BangladeshInternational Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b), Dhaka, 1212, BangladeshInstitute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR), Dhaka, 1212, BangladeshInstitute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR), Dhaka, 1212, BangladeshInstitute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR), Dhaka, 1212, BangladeshInstitute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR), Dhaka, 1212, BangladeshInstitute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR), Dhaka, 1212, BangladeshInstitute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR), Dhaka, 1212, BangladeshInstitute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR), Dhaka, 1212, BangladeshGlobal Health Development/EMPHNET, Dhaka, 1212, BangladeshInternational Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b), Dhaka, 1212, BangladeshInternational Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b), Dhaka, 1212, BangladeshSummary: Background: There is limited global evidence on whether influenza sentinel surveillance platforms can be effectively adapted for long-term SARS-CoV-2 monitoring in low-resource contexts. We explored the utility of the hospital-based influenza sentinel surveillance (HBIS) platform for monitoring SARS-CoV-2 in Bangladesh by comparing SARS-CoV-2 detection in HBIS platform with national COVID-19 platform and assessing how its integration into influenza surveillance aligns with national trends. Methods: From March 2020 to December 2024, we analysed data from patients with severe acute respiratory infection (SARI) and influenza-like illness (ILI) enrolled in HBIS. Socio-demographic and clinical data were recorded, and nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal swabs were tested for influenza and SARS-CoV-2 using rRT-PCR. Whole-genome sequencing was performed on a subset of SARS-CoV-2–positive samples. Data from national COVID-19 platform were obtained from the Directorate General of Health Services, Bangladesh, and were compared with HBIS platform data using epidemic curves and Pearson correlation analysis. Findings: Among 25,366 (SARI: 20,226; ILI: 5140) patients, 13.0% (3310) tested positive for influenza, 6.6% (1680) for SARS-CoV-2, and 0.2% (43) were co-infected. SARS-CoV-2 positivity in HBIS (6.8%), including 0.2% co-infections, was lower than the national average (13.1%), but showed a strong correlation with national trends (Pearson r = 0.86, P < 0.001). Sequencing of 234 SARS-CoV-2 strains detected the beta and delta variants in April and May 2021, respectively, and omicron subvariants circulating from 2022 to 2024, aligning with the national COVID-19 platform. Interpretation: SARS-CoV-2 positivity trends in HBIS platform closely aligned with the national COVID-19 platform, demonstrating its potential as a sustainable platform for COVID-19 monitoring. Our findings underscore the feasibility of influenza sentinel surveillance as an early warning system for future COVID-19 outbreaks or other respiratory viruses of pandemic concern in Bangladesh and similar settings. Funding: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Atlanta, Georgia, USA (U01GH002259).http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772368225001283COVID-19SARS-CoV-2InfluenzaMonitoringIntegrationSurveillance
spellingShingle Md Ariful Islam
Md Zakiul Hassan
Zubair Akhtar
Saju Bhuiya
Tanzir Ahmed Shuvo
Probir Kumar Ghosh
Asadullah
Md Abdullah Al Jubayer Biswas
Mustafizur Rahman
Mohammad Jubair
Mst Noorjahan Begum
Yeasir Karim
Mohammed Ziaur Rahman
Mohammad Enayet Hossain
Mohammad Niaz Morshed Khan
Tahmina Shirin
Shah Niaz Md Rubaid Anwar
Ahmed Nawsher Alam
Mohammad Ferdous Rahman Sarker
Monalisa
Manjur Hossain Khan Jony
Mahbubur Rahman
Mahmudur Rahman
Mohammad Abdul Aleem
Fahmida Chowdhury
Leveraging the influenza sentinel surveillance platform for SARS-CoV-2 monitoring in Bangladesh (2020–2024): a prospective sentinel surveillance studyResearch in context
The Lancet Regional Health - Southeast Asia
COVID-19
SARS-CoV-2
Influenza
Monitoring
Integration
Surveillance
title Leveraging the influenza sentinel surveillance platform for SARS-CoV-2 monitoring in Bangladesh (2020–2024): a prospective sentinel surveillance studyResearch in context
title_full Leveraging the influenza sentinel surveillance platform for SARS-CoV-2 monitoring in Bangladesh (2020–2024): a prospective sentinel surveillance studyResearch in context
title_fullStr Leveraging the influenza sentinel surveillance platform for SARS-CoV-2 monitoring in Bangladesh (2020–2024): a prospective sentinel surveillance studyResearch in context
title_full_unstemmed Leveraging the influenza sentinel surveillance platform for SARS-CoV-2 monitoring in Bangladesh (2020–2024): a prospective sentinel surveillance studyResearch in context
title_short Leveraging the influenza sentinel surveillance platform for SARS-CoV-2 monitoring in Bangladesh (2020–2024): a prospective sentinel surveillance studyResearch in context
title_sort leveraging the influenza sentinel surveillance platform for sars cov 2 monitoring in bangladesh 2020 2024 a prospective sentinel surveillance studyresearch in context
topic COVID-19
SARS-CoV-2
Influenza
Monitoring
Integration
Surveillance
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772368225001283
work_keys_str_mv AT mdarifulislam leveragingtheinfluenzasentinelsurveillanceplatformforsarscov2monitoringinbangladesh20202024aprospectivesentinelsurveillancestudyresearchincontext
AT mdzakiulhassan leveragingtheinfluenzasentinelsurveillanceplatformforsarscov2monitoringinbangladesh20202024aprospectivesentinelsurveillancestudyresearchincontext
AT zubairakhtar leveragingtheinfluenzasentinelsurveillanceplatformforsarscov2monitoringinbangladesh20202024aprospectivesentinelsurveillancestudyresearchincontext
AT sajubhuiya leveragingtheinfluenzasentinelsurveillanceplatformforsarscov2monitoringinbangladesh20202024aprospectivesentinelsurveillancestudyresearchincontext
AT tanzirahmedshuvo leveragingtheinfluenzasentinelsurveillanceplatformforsarscov2monitoringinbangladesh20202024aprospectivesentinelsurveillancestudyresearchincontext
AT probirkumarghosh leveragingtheinfluenzasentinelsurveillanceplatformforsarscov2monitoringinbangladesh20202024aprospectivesentinelsurveillancestudyresearchincontext
AT asadullah leveragingtheinfluenzasentinelsurveillanceplatformforsarscov2monitoringinbangladesh20202024aprospectivesentinelsurveillancestudyresearchincontext
AT mdabdullahaljubayerbiswas leveragingtheinfluenzasentinelsurveillanceplatformforsarscov2monitoringinbangladesh20202024aprospectivesentinelsurveillancestudyresearchincontext
AT mustafizurrahman leveragingtheinfluenzasentinelsurveillanceplatformforsarscov2monitoringinbangladesh20202024aprospectivesentinelsurveillancestudyresearchincontext
AT mohammadjubair leveragingtheinfluenzasentinelsurveillanceplatformforsarscov2monitoringinbangladesh20202024aprospectivesentinelsurveillancestudyresearchincontext
AT mstnoorjahanbegum leveragingtheinfluenzasentinelsurveillanceplatformforsarscov2monitoringinbangladesh20202024aprospectivesentinelsurveillancestudyresearchincontext
AT yeasirkarim leveragingtheinfluenzasentinelsurveillanceplatformforsarscov2monitoringinbangladesh20202024aprospectivesentinelsurveillancestudyresearchincontext
AT mohammedziaurrahman leveragingtheinfluenzasentinelsurveillanceplatformforsarscov2monitoringinbangladesh20202024aprospectivesentinelsurveillancestudyresearchincontext
AT mohammadenayethossain leveragingtheinfluenzasentinelsurveillanceplatformforsarscov2monitoringinbangladesh20202024aprospectivesentinelsurveillancestudyresearchincontext
AT mohammadniazmorshedkhan leveragingtheinfluenzasentinelsurveillanceplatformforsarscov2monitoringinbangladesh20202024aprospectivesentinelsurveillancestudyresearchincontext
AT tahminashirin leveragingtheinfluenzasentinelsurveillanceplatformforsarscov2monitoringinbangladesh20202024aprospectivesentinelsurveillancestudyresearchincontext
AT shahniazmdrubaidanwar leveragingtheinfluenzasentinelsurveillanceplatformforsarscov2monitoringinbangladesh20202024aprospectivesentinelsurveillancestudyresearchincontext
AT ahmednawsheralam leveragingtheinfluenzasentinelsurveillanceplatformforsarscov2monitoringinbangladesh20202024aprospectivesentinelsurveillancestudyresearchincontext
AT mohammadferdousrahmansarker leveragingtheinfluenzasentinelsurveillanceplatformforsarscov2monitoringinbangladesh20202024aprospectivesentinelsurveillancestudyresearchincontext
AT monalisa leveragingtheinfluenzasentinelsurveillanceplatformforsarscov2monitoringinbangladesh20202024aprospectivesentinelsurveillancestudyresearchincontext
AT manjurhossainkhanjony leveragingtheinfluenzasentinelsurveillanceplatformforsarscov2monitoringinbangladesh20202024aprospectivesentinelsurveillancestudyresearchincontext
AT mahbuburrahman leveragingtheinfluenzasentinelsurveillanceplatformforsarscov2monitoringinbangladesh20202024aprospectivesentinelsurveillancestudyresearchincontext
AT mahmudurrahman leveragingtheinfluenzasentinelsurveillanceplatformforsarscov2monitoringinbangladesh20202024aprospectivesentinelsurveillancestudyresearchincontext
AT mohammadabdulaleem leveragingtheinfluenzasentinelsurveillanceplatformforsarscov2monitoringinbangladesh20202024aprospectivesentinelsurveillancestudyresearchincontext
AT fahmidachowdhury leveragingtheinfluenzasentinelsurveillanceplatformforsarscov2monitoringinbangladesh20202024aprospectivesentinelsurveillancestudyresearchincontext