For the past decade, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services has enlisted the help of Michigan clinical laboratories to serve as sentinel laboratories for influenza surveillance. The data provided by these sentinel labs assists in better characterizing the circulation of respiratory viruses in Michigan and is a key component of MDCH influenza surveillance.
Throughout the year, participating labs report on a weekly basis to MDHHS the number of positive specimens (and if possible the number of total tests run) for the following respiratory viruses:
Participating labs also submit representative influenza isolates to the MDHHS Bureau of Laboratories throughout the influenza season for further strain typing.
For more information on the MDHHS Influenza Sentinel Laboratory Program, please contact the Division of Communicable Disease at (517) 335-8165.
MDHHS Bureau of Laboratories Influenza Testing Algorithm for Influenza Sentinel Laboratories
