Sample collection

Sample collection has been ongoing on an annual basis since 1986, with all sera being provided by Agency laboratories and (now ex) public health laboratories. Sample collection is opportunistic, represents the entire age range and can be broadly stratified by region. Samples are anonymised upon receipt with only age, sex, date of collection and source laboratory being retained. Although it is a convenience collection, evidence suggests that it can be considered to approximate the general population of England and Wales (Kelly et al. Vaccine 2002; 20:3130-6).

Targets for sample submission (currently 1000 samples per region, per calendar year) are set in collaboration with RMN, and updated information about samples submitted is fed back to participants on a monthly basis.

The collection is run on a voluntary basis with over 150,000 sera now available (figure 1). If you would like to contribute, please email us (sero.epidemiology@hpa.org.uk )

 

Last reviewed: 16 February 2010