title: Repeat capture-recapture studies as part of the evaluation of the surveillance of Legionnaires' disease in France.
abstract: We evaluated improvements made to the mandatory notification surveillance system for Legionnaires' disease in France by estimating its sensitivity in 1995 and 1998 using a repeat capture-recapture method. A case of Legionnaires' disease was defined as a person treated for pneumonia in whom legionella had been detected. Patient details were collected from (1) mandatory notifications; (2) the National Reference Centre for Legionella; (3) a postal survey of all hospital laboratories. The three sources were cross-matched and 715 individual cases were identified. A log-linear model, which included an interaction term between mandatory notifications and both the National Reference Centre and Laboratory sources, provided an estimated total of 1124 cases (95% CI 973-1275) in 1998, a twofold increase compared with 1995. The sensitivity of the surveillance system improved from 10% in 1995 to 33% (95% CI 29-38%) in 1998. Capture-recapture methods are important tools in the evaluation of surveillance systems.
authors.affiliation: Institut de Veille Sanitaire, Saint-Maurice, France.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nardone
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Decludt
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jarraud
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Etienne
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Hubert
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Infuso
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gallay
authors.forename: J C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Desenclos
mesh_terms: D003625:Data Collection; D018563:Disease Notification / Q000592:standards*; D005602:France / Q000453:epidemiology; D006291:Health Policy; D006801:Humans; D007877:Legionnaires' Disease / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011159:Population Surveillance; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity