The Pediatric Early Warning Sentinel Surveillance (PEWSS) is a year-round surveillance system developed by the Southern Nevada Health District to identify the pathogens responsible for respiratory disease circulating in the community.

Each week, several sentinel health care providers submit nasal swabs to the Southern Nevada Public Health Laboratory (SNPHL) for testing. The specimens are collected from children who present with a fever >100°F accompanied by a cough and/or sore throat.

The use of molecular methodologies has allowed SNPHL to quickly and accurately identify numerous pathogens in submitted specimens, and in turn has allowed the Office of Epidemiology to summarize those results and report to the medical community every week about currently circulating pathogens.

PEWSS evolved out of community-based 2009 H1N1 influenza surveillance conducted in response to the discovery of the virus in 2009. In June 2010, SNHD began testing for four influenza viruses (Influenza AH1, Influenza 2009 A (H1N1), Influenza AH3, and Influenza B), and six non-influenza viruses (Adenovirus, Human metapneumovirus, Human parainfluenza virus 1, Human parainfluenza 2, Human parainfluenza virus 3, and Respiratory Syncytial Virus).

In December 2013, the program was expanded to include six additional viral pathogens: four coronaviruses (Coronavirus HKU1, Coronavirus NL63, Coronavirus 229E, Coronavirus OC43), Parainfluenza 4, and rhinovirus/enterovirus. The system also began testing for three bacterial pathogens: Bordetella pertussis, Chlamydophila pneumonia and Mycoplasma pneumonia.

PEWSS reports are published weekly and will include a summary of the respiratory pathogen trends observed in the community. For questions about the PEWSS program, contact the Office of Epidemiology at (702) 759-1300.

Download the PEWSS system overview and methodology for additional information.