Are respiratory virus surveillance dashboards ready for the post-pandemic era?
The surveillance of respiratory viruses has evolved significantly since the COVID-19 pandemic. Online dashboards—digital tools that visualize the real-time circulation of viruses such as influenza, RSV, and SARS-CoV-2—have proliferated. These platforms provide valuable information for tracking epidemiological trends and guiding public health decisions. However, their rapid development has revealed major challenges that still limit their effectiveness and sustainability.
During a workshop held in Lyon in 2025, international experts identified several key obstacles. Data quality remains uneven across countries and sources. Some dashboards rely on reliable clinical or virological information, which can be slow to collect. Others incorporate innovative sources such as wastewater analysis or signals from social media, enabling earlier detection of outbreaks but sometimes lacking precision. The challenge is to combine these approaches while clarifying their strengths and limitations to avoid misinterpretation.
Another challenge concerns data access. Although much information exists, legal, technical, or financial barriers hinder its sharing. Data protection regulations, essential for preserving privacy, sometimes complicate the rapid transmission of crucial information during crises. The managers of these tools emphasize the need for clearer frameworks that allow responsible data access while respecting individual rights.
The standardization of data collection and presentation methods is also crucial. Currently, differences in terminology, categories, or alert thresholds between countries make comparisons difficult. Organizations like the World Health Organization are working to harmonize these practices, but their implementation remains uneven. Without common standards, users risk misinterpreting indicators or underestimating the scale of epidemics in certain regions.
Collaboration between public and private actors appears to be a promising solution. Private initiatives often have advanced technological resources, while the public sector brings health expertise and institutional legitimacy. However, partnerships remain limited by mutual distrust and sometimes divergent interests. Better coordination could unlock access to underutilized data, such as that from the medical sector or technology companies, while ensuring ethical use.
Finally, the sustainability of these systems depends on their ability to adapt to user needs. Healthcare professionals, policymakers, and the general public have different expectations. Some require detailed data to guide vaccination strategies or hospital management, while others seek simplified information to understand the risks they face. Designing intuitive and modular interfaces, capable of evolving with the emergence of new viruses or data sources, is imperative.
Automation and artificial intelligence could reduce the workload for teams, often limited to a few individuals, and improve the responsiveness of platforms. However, these technologies must be regulated to prevent errors and maintain public trust. Workshop participants stressed the importance of retaining human oversight, particularly to validate alerts or explain observed trends.
Beyond technical aspects, the governance of these tools remains a weak point. Many rely on precarious funding and small teams, making them vulnerable to budget cuts or staff departures. Without a stable economic model and strong political commitment, their long-term maintenance is uncertain.
Improving these dashboards therefore requires a comprehensive approach: enhancing transparency, facilitating data access, standardizing methods, and fostering partnerships across disciplines and sectors. Only such a dynamic will transform these tools into effective levers for anticipating and managing future health crises. Their success will depend as much on technological innovation as on the collective will to share knowledge and resources.
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About This Study
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12919-026-00368-2
Title: Respiratory virus surveillance in the post-pandemic era: challenges and opportunities for dashboard-based public health action
Journal: BMC Proceedings
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Authors: Adrienne Halley; Caroline Schneeberger; Foekje F. Stelma; Aby Ba Diallo; Ombeline Jollivet; Bronke Boudewijns; Marie-Noëlle Billard; Julika Frome; Jean-Sebastien Casalegno; Katharina B. Lauer; Cédric Mahé; Erica Dueger; Marco Del Riccio; Alexandre Descamp; Anna Maisa; Siddhivinayak Hirve; Saverio Caini; Marta C. Nunes