vol21no7_pdf-version

RESEARCHFigure 1. Venn diagramshowing capture and overlapsin human parechovirus (HPeV)case identification/reportingresulting from the 3 surveillancemechanisms used during theHPeV outbreak in New SouthWales (NSW), Australia, duringOctober 2013–February 2014.swab, rectal swab, or whole blood samples for HPeV; stooland CSF samples were preferred. (3,8,9). These data wereentered into the NSW Notifiable Conditions InformationManagement System. Weekly reports informed the NSWpublic health network of outbreak progression.Passive SurveillanceAll positive HPeV test results from NSW residents referredto the Victorian Infectious Diseases Reference Laboratory(VIDRL) in Melbourne, Victoria (the only laboratory in theregion testing for HPeV), from October 1, 2013, throughFebruary 2, 2014, were reported to NSW Health. Specimendate; estimated illness onset date; sample type; and patientdate of birth, sex, and postcode were recorded in the NSWNotifiable Conditions Information Management System.Syndromic SurveillanceThe NSW emergency department syndromic surveillancesystem monitored the number of infants