Trends of influenza infection in Suriname

Abstract

Please cite this paper as: Adhin et al. (2012) Trends of Influenza infection in Suriname. Influenza and Other Respiratory Viruses DOI: 10.1111/irv.12037.The trends of influenza infection in Suriname were assessed from February 2010 through February 2011. Testing of 393 patients with symptoms of acute respiratory infection (ARI) revealed 15·3% Influenza B and 18·6% could be identified as influenza A positive, consisting of 56% influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 and 44% seasonal A(H3N2). Influenza infection occurred throughout the year, and all three influenza types affected young children as the primary population. The annual incidence of A(H1N1)pdm09 was 6·88 per 100 000 inhabitants [CI] 4·87–9·45. The spread of influenza could neither be linked to tourist flow from the Netherlands nor to contact rates related to school schedules.

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

“…As expected, the seasonality of influenza in Suriname was unlike temperate countries, but concurrent with results from our previous study in Suriname and with data from other TSA countries, displaying discrete periods of peak activity, although not corresponding with fixed seasons throughout the year 1 . The irregularity of the peak timings also supported earlier findings that seasonality is even less clearly defined in tropical countries close to the equator 26 …”

“…However, significant PDR differences between ILI and SARI cases were even registered within the same age group, illustrated by the age group 5-17 years, with a record influenza PDR in the ILI system (59.0%) vs just 12.2% for this age group in SARI patients (P < .001). Various other characteristics of the surveillance systems, including access to care, variations in disease severity and manifestations, may have caused the observed PDR differences within the same age groups.As expected, the seasonality of influenza in Suriname was unlike temperate countries, but concurrent with results from our previous study in Suriname and with data from other TSA countries, displaying discrete periods of peak activity, although not corresponding with fixed seasons throughout the year 1. The irregularity of the peak timings also supported earlier findings that seasonality is even less clearly defined in tropical countries close to the equator 26.…”

“…Suriname has earlier conducted a post-pandemic 1-year study providing first insight into the influenza dynamics and characteristics. 1 The World Health Organization (WHO) Global Influenza Surveillance and Response System has been empowering countries to actively, accurately, and efficiently diagnose and respond to influenza viruses of public health concern. 2 Anno 2019, influenza data are regularly reported across the five continents, while information on the epidemiology, seasonality, and burden of disease of non-influenza etiological agents of respiratory viral infections (RVI) is still limited.…”

“…The epidemiology of influenza, generally characterized as “the flu,” has been well studied in developed countries with temperate climates, but the influenza pandemic in 2009 highlighted the importance of additional data from tropical low‐ and middle‐income countries (LMIC), to attain comprehensive and representative global data. Suriname has earlier conducted a post‐pandemic 1‐year study providing first insight into the influenza dynamics and characteristics 1 …”

Viral causes of severe acute respiratory infection in hospitalized children and association with outcomes: A two-year prospective surveillance study in Suriname

“…Of the collected samples, 10% tested positive for one of the influenza types. An earlier study observed a 34% prevalence of influenza amongst SARI patients in Suriname [ 21 ]. Factors contributing to this difference are the relatively broad definition of SARI used in our study and the fact that our study was limited to the pediatric population, with 80% of patients being less than 2 years of age, and influenza prevalence being lower among children below 2 years of age [ 22 ].…”