Distribution of influenza and other acute respiratory viruses during the first year after the 2009–2010 influenza pandemic in the English‐ and Dutch‐speaking Caribbean countries

Abstract

BackgroundLimited specimen collection and testing for influenza occurred in the English and Dutch‐speaking Caribbean countries prior to the 2009/2010 influenza pandemic. Caribbean Epidemiology Centre (CAREC) member countries rapidly mobilized to collect specimens during the pandemic and a vast majority of confirmed cases during the pandemic period were influenza A(H1N1)pdm09.ObjectivesTo describe the aetiology and distribution of acute respiratory illness (ARI) among laboratory confirmed cases during the first year after the 2009/2010 influenza pandemic in the English‐ and Dutch‐speaking Caribbean.ResultsIn total, 774 specimens were tested and 394 (52.7%) cases had positive laboratory confirmation. Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) (28.4%) and influenza A(H3N2) (23.1%) were most frequently detected. RSV activity peaked in July 2011 while influenza A(H3N2) peaked in October 2010. Influenza was responsible for illness in greater numbers in persons 15–64 years while RSV was seen in primarily in children <5 years and adults >65 years. Other agents confirmed include rhinovirus (12.9%), influenza B (10.9%) and influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 (9.4%).ConclusionsRSV and influenza A(H3N2) were the most common viruses identified during the first year after the influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 pandemic. Influenza was detected every month with peak activity corresponding to that typically seen in North America (October to March). In order to determine the seasonality of influenza and RSV, laboratory data from subsequent years and increased specimen submission is needed.

Epidemiology of respiratory viruses in patients with severe acute respiratory infections and influenza‐like illness in Suriname

“…AdV does not seem to be an important contributor to respiratory disease in adults, as less than 1% in the adult population in this study was affected, consistent with findings from a Caribbean study. 24 The HRV prevalence observed in this study in children younger than 6 months provided support for the findings from Latin American countries that HRV predominately targets children less than 1 year old. 25 Scarce data are available for ILI and SARI information within one study population, especially for South America, thereby restricting the options for data comparison.…”

Seasonality and coinfection of bronchiolitis: epidemiological specificity and consequences in terms of prophylaxis in tropical climate

“…In tropical areas, however, bronchiolitis is poorly documented, and descriptions are heterogeneous [10,11,25]. There are no data from Martinique about this common disease, yet we need a greater understanding of disease patterns in order to take appropriate preventive measures for vulnerable children such as hygiene measures and palivizumab injections.…”

“…The common hypothesis among the population of Martinique that bronchiolitis is imported from mainland France by tourists arriving by plane seems to be unfounded. Surprisingly, the seasonality seems different from that described earlier in the Caribbean area, with a start at the end of the dry season and a peak in July, in English‐ and Dutch‐speaking Caribbean Islands [11]. In contrast, the bronchiolitis season in Guadeloupe, a French Caribbean island located 200 kilometres north of Martinique, was similar over the same period [36].…”

“…In tropical areas, few data are available on the seasonality of bronchiolitis even though interest in this issue has increased in recent years. It seems that RSV is more frequent during the rainy season, from May to October in English‐ and Dutch‐speaking Caribbean Islands, and from June to December in Trinidad [10, 11]. In Martinique, a French overseas department located in the Caribbean with rainy seasons similar to those in Trinidad, bronchiolitis occurs in outbreaks but its seasonality does not appear to follow classical rules as described above.…”

The burden of respiratory syncytial virus in adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis

“…A total of 11 estimates were reported for the proportion of RSV from seven studies in eight countries of Central America and the Caribbean [36][37][38][39][40][41][42], ranging from 0% in El Salvador (ILI, 2006(ILI, -2009 to 26% in Guatemala (ARI, 2007-2011) for all ages. One study was conducted in 24 Caribbean countries from 2010 to 2011, the year immediately following the influenza pandemic of 2009-2010 ( Fig.…”