RELAB network: real-time monitoring of respiratory viruses in the French population

RELAB is a surveillance network involving non-hospital-based medical test laboratories. The network monitors the spread of the respiratory viruses responsible for COVID-19, influenza and bronchiolitis in real time, in all regions of France and for different age groups. In its pilot configuration, thousands of biological samples are analyzed daily by the Biogroup and Cerballiance medical test laboratories, and clinical information is collected from patients undergoing tests. The anonymized data are then sent to the National Reference Center (CNR) for Respiratory Viruses (Hospices civils de Lyon and Institut Pasteur in Paris), where they are analyzed. The RELAB network, in conjunction with the RENAL and Sentinelles networks, is therefore able to offer a comprehensive picture of the epidemic dynamics of respiratory viruses among the French population. Every week throughout the year, it provides information about the most exposed regions and individuals so that behavior can be adapted accordingly, health authorities can be informed about epidemic situations, and potential congestion in hospitals can be anticipated. After a pilot phase that began in August 2023, the first results of RELAB are very promising, and the network is now fully operational in the run-up to the Olympics.

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