Dataset Information

Epidemiology of seasonal influenza in the Middle East and North Africa regions, 2010-2016: Circulating influenza A and B viruses and spatial timing of epidemics.

ABSTRACT: There is a limited knowledge regarding the epidemiology of influenza in Middle East and North Africa.We described the patterns of influenza circulation and the timing of seasonal epidemics in countries of Middle East and North Africa.We used virological surveillance data for 2010-2016 from the WHO FluNet database. In each country, we calculated the median proportion of cases that were caused by each virus type and subtype; determined the timing and amplitude of the primary and secondary peaks; and used linear regression models to test for spatial trends in the timing of epidemics.We included 70 532 influenza cases from seventeen countries. Influenza A and B accounted for a median 76.5% and 23.5% of cases in a season and were the dominant type in 86.8% and 13.2% of seasons. The proportion of influenza A cases that were subtyped was 85.9%, while only 4.4% of influenza B cases were characterized. For most countries, influenza seasonality was similar to the Northern Hemisphere, with a single large peak between January and March; exceptions were the countries in the Arabian Peninsula and Jordan, all of which showed clear secondary peaks, and some countries had an earlier primary peak (in November-December in Bahrain and Qatar). The direction of the timing of influenza activity was east to west and south to north in 2012-2013 and 2015-2016, and west to east in 2014-2015.The epidemiology of influenza is generally uniform in countries of Middle East and North Africa, with influenza B playing an important role in the seasonal disease burden.

SUBMITTER: Caini S

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5907816 | biostudies-other | 2018 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Epidemiology of seasonal influenza in the Middle East and North Africa regions, 2010-2016: Circulating influenza A and B viruses and spatial timing of epidemics.

Caini Saverio S El-Guerche Séblain Clotilde C Ciblak Meral A MA Paget John J

Influenza and other respiratory viruses 20180219 3

<h4>Background</h4>There is a limited knowledge regarding the epidemiology of influenza in Middle East and North Africa.<h4>Objectives</h4>We described the patterns of influenza circulation and the timing of seasonal epidemics in countries of Middle East and North Africa.<h4>Methods</h4>We used virological surveillance data for 2010-2016 from the WHO FluNet database. In each country, we calculated the median proportion of cases that were caused by each virus type and subtype; determined the timi ...[more]

PMID: 29405575

Similar Datasets

Project description:BACKGROUND:Over the last decade, capacity for influenza surveillance and research in West Africa has strengthened. Data from these surveillance systems showed influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 circulated in West Africa later than in other regions of the continent. METHODS:We contacted 11 West African countries to collect information about their influenza surveillance systems (number of sites, type of surveillance, sampling strategy, populations sampled, case definitions used, number of specimens collected and number of specimens positive for influenza viruses) for the time period January 2010 through December 2012. RESULTS:Of the 11 countries contacted, 8 responded: Burkina Faso, Cote d'Ivoire, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Togo. Countries used standard World Health Organization (WHO) case definitions for influenza-like illness (ILI) and severe acute respiratory illness (SARI) or slight variations thereof. There were 70 surveillance sites: 26 SARI and 44 ILI. Seven countries conducted SARI surveillance and collected 3114 specimens of which 209 (7%) were positive for influenza viruses. Among influenza-positive SARI patients, 132 (63%) were influenza A [68 influenza A(H1N1)pdm09, 64 influenza A(H3N2)] and 77 (37%) were influenza B. All eight countries conducted ILI surveillance and collected 20,375 specimens, of which 2278 (11%) were positive for influenza viruses. Among influenza-positive ILI patients, 1431 (63%) were influenza A [820 influenza A(H1N1)pdm09, 611 influenza A(H3N2)] and 847 (37%) were influenza B. A majority of SARI and ILI case-patients who tested positive for influenza (72% SARI and 59% ILI) were children aged 0-4 years, as were a majority of those enrolled in surveillance. The seasonality of influenza and the predominant influenza type or subtype varied by country and year. CONCLUSIONS:Influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 continued to circulate in West Africa along with influenza A(H3N2) and influenza B during 2010-2012. Although ILI surveillance systems produced a robust number of samples during the study period, more could be done to strengthen surveillance among hospitalized SARI case-patients. Surveillance systems captured young children but lacked data on adults and the elderly. More data on risk groups for severe influenza in West Africa are needed to help shape influenza prevention and clinical management policies and guidelines.

Dataset Information

Epidemiology of seasonal influenza in the Middle East and North Africa regions, 2010-2016: Circulating influenza A and B viruses and spatial timing of epidemics.

Publications

Epidemiology of seasonal influenza in the Middle East and North Africa regions, 2010-2016: Circulating influenza A and B viruses and spatial timing of epidemics.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets