Bern, Get Ready (BEready) Cohort Study for Pandemic Preparedness

NCT06739499 | Active Not Recruiting

• 1 other identifier: 2023-02290
• Study Type: observational
• Target: 2,157
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

The BEready project aims to find out how people in the Canton of Bern can be helped to be more prepared for the next pandemic. BEready wants to understand how infections spread among people as well as between people and animals. BEready wants to find out how social and environmental factors can influence the transmission or catching of infectious diseases. BEready wants to better understand how households and their pets in the Canton of Bern were and continue to be affected by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

Conditions

Pandemic, COVID-19; Infections; Respiratory Tract Infections; Zoonoses; Epidemic Disease

Keywords

One Health; Pandemic preparedness; Community engagement

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (13)

• Response rate among the randomly sampled participants

  Percentage agreeing to take part, divided by the number invited, by age and sex (study level)

  Baseline

• Attendance of follow up visits (to derive factors associated with research participation)

  Percentage of completed questionnaire (study level)

  At every annual follow-up for up to 100 years

• Incidence of respiratory virus detection in symptomatic persons

  Test positivity: percentage of nasal swab samples with a positive result for specific respiratory viruses among all viruses detected amongst those reporting disease events cumulatively by the end of one year; incidence rate for any detected virus and for specific viruses: number of nasal swab samples with a positive result per 100 person years of follow-up (individual level, infection-related)

  At the end of a 12 months period

• Seroprevalence of antibodies to respiratory viruses

  Proportion of serum samples with antibodies to specific respiratory viruses (individual level, infection-related)

  At baseline and annually thereafter for up to 100 years

• Incidence of co-infection/co-colonisation at the pet/owner interface

  Proportion of serum samples with antibodies to specific parasites (individual level, infection-related)

  Throughout follow-up for up to 100 years

• Incidence of animal diseases diagnosed through syndromic surveillance

  Based on each case definition, e.g. febrile illness, incidence of syndromic diagnoses by month (individual level, infection-related)

  Throughout follow-up for up to 100 years

• Prevalence of post-acute viral symptoms

  Individual level, infection-related

  At baseline and annually thereafter for up to 100 years

• Gender roles

  Gender is a cross-cutting theme. Associations with gender measured by questionnaire will be examined for all endpoints (individual level, personal, social, demographic).

  At all timepoints for up to 100 years

• Number of daily social contacts

  Numbers of social contacts between humans, according to age group and location (individual level, personal, social, demographic)

  At baseline and annually thereafter for up to 100 years

• Affective polarisation

  Mean and standard deviation of Likert scale scores (individual level, personal, social, demographic)

  At baseline

• Knowledge of pandemic preparedness

  Knowledge measured by questionnaire. Summary of the survey data (individual level, personal, social, demographic)

  At baseline

• Knowledge of vector-borne diseases

  Knowledge measured by questionnaire. Summary of the survey data (individual level, personal, social, demographic)

  At baseline

• Experienced marginalisation

  Experience measured by questionnaire. Summary of the survey data (individual level, personal, social, demographic)

  At baseline

Eligibility Criteria

• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Child (0-17), Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)
• Sampling Method: Probability Sample

Study Population

BEready will include a spectrum of the Bernese population living in private households, including adults, children and pets. A private household is defined as a person living alone or group of persons living in the same dwelling. The study population for the BEready cohort will be enrolled from different sources in the source population of the canton of Bern. BEready aims to enrol around 1,500 households in total from: * Households already participating in the BEready pilot study * A random selection of households in Bern using the cantonal residents' register * Volunteer households from the general public

You may qualify if:

• Informed consent
• Residence (average of more than 3 days/week) in a private household in the canton of Bern where at least one member aged 18 agreed to take part.
• For adults, children aged 14 years or older, and parents/legal guardians: internet connection (Wi-Fi, fixed or on a mobile phone) and personal email address.
• For adults, children aged 11 years or older, and parents/legal guardians: able to understand, speak, read and write German, French and/or English.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Bern: lead
• Stiftung Vinetum: collaborator

Study Sites (1)

University of Bern

Bern, 3012, Switzerland

Location

Related Links

• BEready Cohort study website

Biospecimen

Retention: SAMPLES WITH DNA

Blood, nasal swabs

MeSH Terms

Conditions

COVID-19; Infections; Zoonoses; Respiratory Tract Infections

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Pneumonia, Viral; Pneumonia; Virus Diseases; Coronavirus Infections; Coronaviridae Infections; Nidovirales Infections; RNA Virus Infections; Lung Diseases; Respiratory Tract Diseases; Animal Diseases

Study Officials

• Nicola Low, Prof. Dr. med.

  University of Bern

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: observational
• Observational Model: COHORT
• Time Perspective: PROSPECTIVE
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: December 9, 2024
• First Posted: December 18, 2024
• Study Start: April 29, 2024
• Primary Completion (Estimated): December 31, 2100
• Study Completion (Estimated): December 31, 2100
• Last Updated: February 5, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-02

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will share

Locations

CH (1)