A busy pediatrician's office in Davenport is among a relatively few lookout points scattered around the nation, actively collecting data as part of the formal surveillance of the H1N1 influenza virus.

The office of Dr. Greg Garvin at Genesis Medical Center-West Central Park, Davenport, is one of six sites in Iowa taking part in the Influenza Incidence Pilot Project. And Iowa is one of only seven states taking part in the program.

"It's exciting for us," office manager Neena Chaudhry-Willis said Friday.

The project is a federal initiative and affiliated with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The information gathered will be included in a presidential report, according to Meghan Harris, a disease surveillance expert with the Iowa Department of Public Health in Des Moines.

"I take public health very seriously," said Garvin, a 17-year member of the Scott County Board of Health who is also in his second term on the Iowa Board of Health.

"Being involved in this … makes me a better pediatrician," he said. "I learn ways to take better care of my patients."

Some 630 patients visited Garvin's office last week, Chaudhry-Willis said.

When it comes to the flu and tests for it this fall, about 100 percent of the lab results are positive for the H1N1 virus. "We haven't seen any seasonal flu strains yet," Harris said.

As part of the incidence project, a special report is made to the state with the number of patients who come in with an influenza-like illness, and the first 10 of those patients are tested. The actual tests are then sent to the Iowa Hygienic Lab in Iowa City for analysis.

It's extra work because the documentation is handled differently for this project, Chaudhry-Willis said. The office must transfer the 10 lab samples in a timely manner to a courier, who takes them to Iowa City. "There are several in-house things to keep our eye on," she said.

The test results are helping the state get a high-quality picture of those who actually come down with influenza, Harris said. What the state hopes to see is:

• Which viruses, such as H1N1, really hit Iowans hard.
• Which age groups are affected.
• How well the tests for influenza work at various times of the year.

The program is in its third week. Garvin's office is the only pediatric site in Iowa. Others involved are the student health center at Iowa State University in Ames, and family practice clinics in Waterloo, North Liberty, Akron and Panora.

The Influenza Incidence Pilot Project has progressed smoothly to date. "I'm very impressed with how it's going," Harris said.