ORegon CHild Absenteeism due to Respiratory Disease Study-Air Surveillance (ORCHARDS-AIR)

Are you (18 & 19 year olds) or your child part of the Oregon School District and coming down with a cold or flu? Families may be eligible to participate in the ORCHARDS-AIR Study!

ORCHARDS-AIR is a public health cold and flu study led by Jonathan Temte, MD/PhD, and Shari Barlow at the UW – Department of Family Medicine that builds on the original ORCHARDS project (2015-2024).  This study involves cold and flu monitoring in students, from grades pre-K through high school (4K-12, ages 4 – 19.5 years) in the Oregon School District.  This study will identify viruses that cause illness, including influenza and SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19), and introduces a new air surveillance component to help researchers better understand how these viruses spread in our homes.

Eligibility Criteria

A student may be eligible if…

1. They have a cold or the flu or believe they may be coming down with a cold or the flu
2. They have 2 or more of the following symptoms:

• • Nasal discharge (runny nose)
  • Nasal congestion (stuffy nose)
  • Sneezing
  • Sore throat
  • Cough
  • Fever 

A student may be ineligible if…

1. They would be unable to do a nasal swab sample
2. Their illness started more than 7 days ago.

How to Participate & What it Involves

The parent of students under 18 years old or students 18 years or older may call 608-265-3164 to hear more information, go over some screening questions, and set up a time for study staff to drop off study kits if eligible and interested.  A study coordinator will typically drop supplies off within 24 hours. Families will self collect on the day of specimen drop off, 7 days later, and 14 days later. Study personnel will pick up collection kits the day after specimens are collected.

If participating in the optional air surveillance sub-study, an air sampling device and CO2 monitor (if available) will be dropped off with the study kit. This device will be used in a shared area of the home during the two weeks your family is in the study. You will be asked to change the air filter at day 7, which will be picked up by study personnel with the day 7 specimens. On day 14, research staff will pick up the air sampling device and CO2 monitor with your final specimens.

Age-appropriate assent/consent forms will be included with your study kits. These are for your records and do not need to be signed or returned to us. The collection forms will be sent to each participating family by text or email and include questions on demographic information, illness-related information, and vaccination status.  If participating in the sub-study, you will answer additional questions related to air sampling. Each participating family will receive $50 for their time, and an additional $25 if they participate in the air surveillance sub-study.

Students may participate in this study more than once. There must be 30 days between illness episodes in order to participate again.

How This Study Benefits the Community

Because this study involves testing for influenza and COVID-19, early detection of these viruses in the school system could help prevent them from spreading.

Study Information and Promotion

Because this study involves a large portion of the Oregon community, we plan to promote this study throughout the area and provide families with as much information as possible.

In the schools:

• If you call the attendance line to notify the school of your child’s absence, the recording will remind you of the opportunity to participate in the study if your child is absent due to cold or flu. Note: Your child does NOT have to be absent to participate.
• If students go home sick during the day, the health office will provide them with a post card about the study.
• If your child receives rapid influenza/SARS-CoV-2 testing in the school health office, they will receive a postcard about the study
• Emails will be sent to students’ parents.
• Postcards may be mailed to each OSD household

Call 608-265-3164 if you have any questions or would like to participate!

Community ORCHARDS Appreciation Party – Top row, from left: Sarah, Kelly, Cecilia, Maureen, Cristalyne, and Jon.
Bottom row, from left: Alea, Emily, Carly, Shari, Derek.

Publications

2025

Effects of K-12 School District Nonpharmaceutical Interventions on Community-Level Prevalence of Acute Respiratory Infection During the COVID-19 Pandemic

2024

Assessment and comparison of the ILI case definition in clinical and school-based community settings: ORCHARDS/IISP

Rapid Antigen Testing in School Health Offices for Surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 and Influenza A

Effect of planned school breaks on student absenteeism due to influenza-like illness in school aged children-Oregon School District, Wisconsin September 2014-June 2019

Goss MD, He C, Sabry A, Hamer C, Svenson EL, Temte E, Barlow S, Temte JL. Utility and Acceptability of Rapid Antigen Testing for Influenza and SARS-CoV-2 in K-12 School Health Offices During and After the COVID-19 Pandemic. WMJ. 2024;123(6):597-600. PMID: 39908522: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39908522/

Bell C, Goss M, Norton D, Barlow S, Temte E, He C, Hamer C, Walters S, Sabry A, Johnson K, Chen G, Uzicanin A, Temte J. Descriptive Epidemiology of Pathogens Associated with Acute Respiratory Infection in a Community-Based Study of K-12 School Children (2015-2023). Pathogens. 2024 Apr 19;13(4):340. doi: 10.3390/pathogens13040340. PMID: 38668295; PMCID: PMC11053468: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38668295/

Bell C, He C, Norton D, Goss M, Chen G, Temte J. Household transmission of human metapneumovirus and seasonal coronavirus. Epidemiol Infect. 2024 May 21;152:e90. doi: 10.1017/S0950268824000517. PMID: 38770587; PMCID: PMC11736445: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38770587/

Sethi AK, Bell C, Norton D, Goss MD, Barlow S, Chen G, Uzicanin A, Temte JL. Factors Associated With Transmission Across Three Waves of SARS-CoV-2 in a Prospective Community-Based Study of Households With School-Aged Children-Dane County, Wisconsin, 2020-2022. Influenza Other Respir Viruses. 2024 Nov;18(11):e70031. doi: 10.1111/irv.70031. PMID: 39478308; PMCID: PMC11525035: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39478308/

2023

Feasibility and Functionality of SARS-CoV-2 Rapid Testing in K-12 School Health Offices

Changing pattern of respiratory virus detections among school-aged children in a small community – Dane County, Wisconsin, September to December 2022

Factors influencing sensitivity of a rapid influenza diagnostic test in a community-based population of kindergarten through 12th-grade students: Wisconsin 2015-2020

2022

SARS-CoV-2 co-detection with influenza A and other respiratory viruses among school-aged children and their household members— March 12, 2020, to February 22, 2022, Dane County, Wisconsin

Cause-specific student absenteeism monitoring in K-12 schools for detection of increased influenza activity in the surrounding community-Dane County, Wisconsin, 2014-2020

Notes from the Field: SARS-CoV-2 Omicron Variant Infection in 10 Persons Within 90 Days of Previous SARS-CoV-2 Delta Variant Infection – Four States, October 2021-January 2022

2021

The Oregon Child Absenteeism Due to Respiratory Disease Study (ORCHARDS): Rationale, objectives, and design

Evidence of Early Household Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 Involving a School-aged Child

2020

Comparison of participant-collected nasal and staff-collected oropharyngeal specimens for human ribonuclease P detection with RT-PCR during a community-based study

2019

Sequential, within‐season infection with influenza A (H3N2) in a usually healthy vaccinated child

An assessment of parental knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs regarding influenza vaccination