As Australia heads into the winter COVID and influenza surge, a major study is recruiting people with current flu-like symptoms.
Each year several million Australians develop a significant flu-like illness[1], and a portion of these people go on to develop persistent symptoms like fatigue and ‘brain fog’.
A landmark study led by the University of Melbourne, the Doherty Institute, the Kirby Institute at UNSW Sydney and the University of Adelaide aims to understand how common these persistent illnesses are, and will use this information to inform clinical practice and improve health and wellbeing.
The OUTPOST study will follow symptoms in people aged 12 years or older from the onset of acute infection with one of the ‘big three’ respiratory viruses: COVID, influenza (flu) and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). There will be check-ins at 6 weeks, 3 months, 6 months and 1 year, providing real-time insights into the impact of the infection and the time taken to recover.
OUTPOST researcher Professor Nigel Stocks, Head of the Discipline of General Practice at the University of Adelaide, is encouraging people experiencing flu-like symptoms to enrol in the study.
Enrolment is available online for anyone across the country or through a selection of GP clinics and pharmacies in NSW, South Australia and Victoria.
“Ideally, when someone stays unwell after one of these acute infections, support should be available through primary care teams, including doctors, nurses and allied health practitioners,” says Professor Stocks. “However, this type of multi-disciplinary care is not always readily accessible. Through the OUTPOST study, we will map what care pathways currently exist and where there are gaps to guide improvements in care delivery in the future.”
Co-lead investigator Emeritus Professor Andrew Lloyd, Head of the Viral Immunology Systems Program at Kirby Institute, says: “The persisting illness can range from mild to completely debilitating, impacting both physical and mental health, leading to poor social and emotional-wellbeing and decreased education and employment.”
Professor Lena Sanci, OUTPOST co-lead investigator and Head of the Department of General Practice and Primary Care at The University of Melbourne, says while occurrence of post-viral illnesses is well-documented, there is limited understanding of how common these illnesses are, or how they vary based on the type or severity of the triggering infection.
“We heard a lot about severe long COVID in the earlier days of the pandemic, and a lot of this was pre-vaccination and antiviral therapy. For this study, we want to recruit 1500 Australians who are currently unwell with acute flu-like illness, confirm the COVID or other infection, and then monitor the illness through to recovery.
“OUTPOST has been designed to systematically collect data on post-infective illness following a range of infections, with the goal of understanding what kind of symptoms people experience and for how long. It will also help us understand the everyday impacts of these long-term symptoms on peoples’ lives and on the health services they use.”
People who are experiencing recent flu-like symptoms and are interested can find out more about OUTPOST here. Participants will receive free Rapid Antigen Tests (for COVID, Flu and RSV) and $110 worth of vouchers upon completion of the study.
[1] Data from the Australian Sentinel Practice Research Network (ASPREN)