Epidemiology of the 2012 influenza season in Victoria, Australia
Objective: To assess the magnitude and severity of the 2012 influenza season in Victoria, Australia using surveillance data from five sources. Methods: Data from influenza notifications, sentinel general practices, a sentinel hospital network, a sentinel locum service and strain typing databases for...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Book |
| Published: |
World Health Organization Regional Office for the Western Pacific,
2013-08-01T00:00:00Z.
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | Connect to this object online. |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| Summary: | Objective: To assess the magnitude and severity of the 2012 influenza season in Victoria, Australia using surveillance data from five sources. Methods: Data from influenza notifications, sentinel general practices, a sentinel hospital network, a sentinel locum service and strain typing databases for 2012 were descriptively analysed. Results: Influenza and influenza-like illness activity was moderate compared to previous years, although a considerable increase in notified laboratory-confirmed influenza was observed. Type A influenza comprised between 83% and 87% of cases from the general practitioners, hospitals and notifiable surveillance data. Influenza A/H3 was dominant in July and August, and most tested isolates were antigenically similar to the A/Perth/16/2009 virus used in the vaccine. There was a smaller peak of influenza type B in September. No tested viruses were resistant to any neuraminidase inhibitor antivirals. Higher proportions of type A/H3, hospitalized cases and those with a comorbid condition indicated for influenza vaccination were aged 65 years or older. Influenza vaccination coverage among influenza-like illness patients was 24% in sentinel general practices and 50% in hospitals. Discussion: The 2012 influenza season in Victoria was average compared to previous years, with an increased dominance of A/H3 accompanied by increases in older and hospitalized cases. Differences in magnitude and the epidemiological profile of cases detected by the different data sources demonstrate the importance of using a range of surveillance data to assess the relative severity of influenza seasons. |
|---|---|
| Item Description: | 10.5365/wpsar.2013.4.2.007 2094-7321 2094-7313 |