Surveillance of severe influenza-associated encephalopathy and related complications in US children

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is seeking a contractor to conduct surveillance for severe influenza-associated encephalopathy (IAE) among critically ill hospitalized children in the United States. The contractor will be responsible for identifying and recruiting patients, collecting and testing clinical specimens, and performing longitudinal neurologic follow-up. The project aims to establish active surveillance for severe IAE and improve understanding of the spectrum of disease, disease course, risk factors for severe disease, and the impact of influenza vaccination and antiviral treatment on disease course. The contractor will also be required to submit reports and datasets to the CDC. Some key points of the project include: * Performing surveillance for severe IAE in hospitalized children with laboratory-confirmed influenza using standardized case definitions. * Collecting clinical information on identified IAE cases to assess risk factors for severe disease, describe the disease course and spectrum of disease, and assess the impact of different clinical interventions. * Assessing influenza vaccination status of patients and other information about the hospital course. * The project includes optional goals, such as evaluating neuroradiologic reports of children with severe IAE, testing clinical specimens to determine influenza virus subtype, and assessing neurodevelopmental and neurocognitive sequelae among children with severe IAE.