Infectieradar has officially launched its fourth year of data collection, inviting citizens across the country to report weekly on their symptoms, or lack thereof, to help us model the spread of infectious diseases like influenza, RSV, and COVID-19. This initiative plays a vital role in understanding how these diseases spread and relies heavily on public participation.
The first week of data collection revealed 75% of participants were symptom-free. In other words, 1 in 4 reported symptoms, with a runny or blocked nose being the most common. Niel Hens: “This data is essential to track how respiratory viruses spread, as those with mild symptoms will most likely not visit their GP.”
In an article recently published in Domus Medica, he emphasized that by gathering both symptomatic and asymptomatic data, Infectieradar enables more comprehensive disease modeling. “The information we collect helps us track viruses like COVID-19 and influenza in real-time, allowing us to spot outbreaks earlier and make better predictions.” This early detection is key to controlling the spread of infectious diseases.
The Domus Medica article outlines the importance of Infectieradar, and how GPs can support the initiative by raising awareness. For Dutch-speaking readers, the full article is available here.
“Infectieradar’s success depends on broad participation. If you're in Belgium, you can sign up at infectieradar.be and report your symptoms (or absence of symptoms) weekly-this should only take you 15 seconds (if you’re symptom-free) to 3 minutes (if you do have symptoms),” says Lisa Hermans, coordinator of Infectieradar. “Your contribution helps improve the accuracy of models that track infectious disease spread, helping safeguard public health.”
