School absenteeism among school‐aged children with medically attended acute viral respiratory illness during three influenza seasons, 2012‐2013 through 2014‐2015

Abstract

BackgroundAcute respiratory illnesses (ARIs) are common in school‐aged children, but few studies have assessed school absenteeism due to specific respiratory viruses.ObjectiveTo evaluate school absenteeism among children with medically attended ARI due to common viruses.MethodsWe analyzed follow‐up surveys from children seeking care for acute respiratory illness who were enrolled in the influenza vaccine effectiveness study at Marshfield Clinic during the 2012‐2013 through 2014‐2015 influenza seasons. Archived influenza‐negative respiratory swabs were retested using multiplex RT‐PCR to detect 16 respiratory virus targets. Negative binomial and logistic regression models were used to examine the association between school absence and type of respiratory viruses; endpoints included mean days absent from school and prolonged (>2 days) absence. We examined the association between influenza vaccination and school absence among children with RT‐PCR‐confirmed influenza.ResultsAmong 1027 children, 2295 days of school were missed due to medically attended ARIs; influenza accounted for 39% of illness episodes and 47% of days missed. Mean days absent were highest for influenza (0.96‐1.19) and lowest for coronavirus (0.62). Children with B/Yamagata infection were more likely to report prolonged absence than children with A/H1N1 or A/H3N2 infection [OR (95% CI): 2.1 (1.0, 4.5) and 1.7 (1.0, 2.9), respectively]. Among children with influenza, vaccination status was not associated with prolonged absence.ConclusionsSchool absenteeism due to medically attended ARIs varies by viral infection. Influenza B infections accounted for the greatest burden of absenteeism.

Influenza vaccine effectiveness among high-risk groups: A systematic literature review and meta-analysis of case-control and cohort studies

“…In McLean HK et al was found a lower value of influenza visits VE among elderly, in particular for influenza A(H3N2). 11 This estimated VE was consistent with laboratory findings from the US national virological surveillance during the same influenza season. 57 Although virological surveillance indicated no antigenic drift between the circulating influenza A(H3N2) viruses and the cell grown reference vaccine virus, the egg-propagated A/Victoria/361/2011 reassortant virus used in vaccine production acquired 3 amino acid changes in the antigenic region of HA (at positions H156Q, G186V and S219Y), which significantly altered its antigenicity.…”

Influenza in Children

“…Influenza infection in children also poses a socioeconomic burden for both children and families. Almost all school-aged children with influenza miss at least a day of school, with influenza infection leading to the highest average days of school missed compared with other common childhood acute respiratory illnesses such as respiratory syncytial virus, human metapneumovirus, parainfluenza virus, and coronavirus (Principi et al 2003;Ambrose and Antonova 2014;McLean et al 2017). Furthermore, around one-half of the parents of children with influenza miss at least a day of work, and many others must hire caregivers for sick children.…”

Efficacy and Safety of Nitazoxanide in Addition to Standard of Care for the Treatment of Severe Acute Respiratory Illness

“…No significant time differences to hospital discharge were observed for most virology groups (Table 4) ; P = .28) were not different between groups. It took a median of 7 (IQR, 2-28) days for adult subjects to function as well as before they had the respiratory illness (Global Assessment) in the NTZ group, compared with 4 (IQR, [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14] days in the placebo + SOC arm (P = .04).…”

“…Severe acute respiratory illness (SARI) has been among the top 3 causes of death and disability among both children and adults worldwide, and it is estimated that SARI causes nearly 4 million deaths annually [1,2]. Besides causing severe complications and significant use of hospital services, SARI is responsible for major losses in productivity in part due to absenteeism [3,4]. Respiratory viruses have been previously shown to cause 51% of hospitalizations for influenza-like illness (ILI) in adults and 65% in children in Mexico [5].…”