Dataset from Short Period Incidence Study of Severe Acute Respiratory Illness

This is a multi-centre, prospective, short period incidence observational study of patients
in participating hospitals and intensive care units (ICUs) with SARI. The study period will
occur, in both Northern and Southern hemispheric winters. The study period will comprise a 5
to 7-day cohort study in which patients meeting a SARI case-definition, who are newly
admitted to the hospitals / ICUs at participating sites, will be included in the study. The
study will be conducted in 20 to 40-hospital/ ICU-based research networks globally. All
clinical information and sample data will only be recorded if taken as part of the routine
clinical practice at each site and only fully anonymised and de-identified data will be
submitted centrally.

The primary aim of this study is to establishing a research response capability for a future
epidemic / pandemic through a global SARI observational study. The secondary aim of this
study is to investigate the descriptive epidemiology and microbiology profiles of patients
with SARI. The tertiary aim of this study is to assess the Ethics, Administrative, Regulatory
and Logistic (EARL) barriers to conducting pandemic research on a global level.