The citizen surveillance project for respiratory infections is seeking 800 new volunteers to monitor flu, Covid-19, and bronchiolitis this winter.
After a 2024-2025 season marked by a significant increase in the number of participants, the Grippenet/Covidnet project is relaunching its campaign in Alpes-Maritimes. The objective is to reach 1,000 volunteers in the department to enhance real-time monitoring of acute respiratory infections.
Created in 2012, Grippenet/Covidnet is coordinated by the Pierre Louis Institute of Epidemiology and Public Health (IPLESP), under the auspices of Inserm and Sorbonne University. Each week, over 5,000 citizens in France anonymously report their potential symptoms to track the circulation of viruses. These data contribute to national and European scientific research, connected with the Influenzanet platform, which brings together several European countries.
Becoming a public health actor
The process relies on voluntary participation. Anyone of legal age living in France can register on Grippenet.
Minors can also participate through their parents. Once registered, each volunteer receives a weekly questionnaire. It takes between thirty seconds and five minutes to answer. Anonymity is guaranteed: only the email address is recorded.
The objective is simple: report any potential respiratory symptoms. These insights, combined with other sources, allow for tracking the spread of flu, Covid-19, and other seasonal viruses. “With just a few clicks, everyone can become an actor in health monitoring in their region,” indicate the platform’s officials.
The collected data allows measuring in real-time how many people are affected, what symptoms appear, and the recourse to care. According to the previous season’s results, 23% of participants reported at least one episode of symptoms compatible with an acute respiratory infection.
Incidence curves showed two peaks of activity: the first in early December, marking an early onset of flu and bronchiolitis; the second in February, linked to a more pronounced flu epidemic.
Regarding medical care, 63% of infection episodes did not result in a consultation, while 26% resulted in a visit to a general practitioner, 6% in a consultation at a pharmacy, and only 3% in a visit to an emergency facility or outpatient care.
In terms of vaccination, 60% of volunteers were vaccinated against seasonal flu and 37% against Covid-19.
Enhanced monitoring with the SISP&EaU project
This new campaign is taking place in a context of increased vigilance. Winter is expected to be conducive to the simultaneous circulation of several respiratory viruses. Having early indicators is essential to anticipate epidemic waves and adapt public health measures.
Since 2024, Grippenet/Covidnet has been integrated into the research project SISP&EaU, which aims to cross-reference various information sources to establish a comprehensive model of respiratory disease surveillance. The volunteers’ data will be compared with clinical data (general medicine, drug sales), virologic data (samples analysis, wastewater, used tissues), and environmental data.
A high number of participants is therefore essential to ensure the reliability of the analyses.
Researchers hope to gain a more detailed understanding of the virus dynamics in Alpes-Maritimes. By participating, everyone contributes to public research and receives a weekly update on the epidemiological situation.
Participate online
Registration is already open. The site also offers information resources and updates on epidemics. Grippenet/Covidnet is present on Facebook and Instagram, where updates and participation calls are shared.
In just a few minutes per week, residents of Alpes-Maritimes can thus contribute to the monitoring of flu, Covid-19, and other respiratory infections. An interesting citizen mobilization to better understand, prevent, and track the evolution of viruses that circulate every winter.
