Original scientific paper
Overview of the winter wave of 2009 pandemic influenza A(H1N1)v in Vojvodina, Serbia
Vladimir Petrović
; Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, Provincial Secretariat for Health, Novi Sad, Serbia
Zorica Šeguljev
; Institute of Public Health of Vojvodina, Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Novi Sad, Serbia
Gorana Ćosić
; Institute of Public Health of Vojvodina, Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Novi Sad, Serbia
Mioljub Ristić
; Institute of Public Health of Vojvodina, Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Novi Sad, Serbia
Jasminka Nedeljković
; Institute of Vaccines, Virology and Sera, Torlak, Belgrade, Serbia
Nataša Dragnić
; Institute of Public Health of Vojvodina, Center for Biostatistics and Informatics, Novi Sad, Serbia
Snežana Ukropina
; Institute of Public Health of Vojvodina, Center for Health Promotion, Novi Sad, Serbia
Abstract
Aim To analyze the epidemiological data for pandemic influenza A(H1N1)v in the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, Serbia, during the season of 2009/2010 and to assess
whether including severe acute respiratory illness (SARI)
hospitalization data to the surveillance system gives a
more complete picture of the impact of influenza during
the pandemic.
Methods From September 2009 to September 2010, the
Institute of Public Health of Vojvodina conducted sentinel
surveillance of influenza-like illnesses and acute respiratory
infections in all hospitalized patients with SARI and virological surveillance of population of Vojvodina according to
the European Centers for Disease Control technical document.
Results The pandemic influenza outbreak in the province
started in October 2009 (week 44) in students who had
returned from a school-organized trip to Prague, Bratislava, and Vienna. The highest incidence rate was 1090 per
100 000 inhabitants, found in the week 50. The most affected age group were children 5-14 years old. A total of
1591 patients with severe illness were admitted to regional
hospitals, with a case fatality rate of 2%, representing a hospitalization rate of 78.3 per 100 000 inhabitants and a mortality rate of 1.6 per 100 000. Most frequently hospitalized
were 15-19 years old patients, male patients, and patients
with pneumonia (P < 0.001). The highest case fatality rate
was found among patients with acute respiratory distress
syndrome (P < 0.001). Nasal/throat swabs were obtained
for polymerase chain reaction test from 315 hospitalized
patients and 20 non-hospitalized patients, and 145 (46%)
and 15 (75%) specimens, respectively, tested positive on
A(H1N1)v.
Conclusion Sentinel influenza-like illness and SARI surveillance, both followed with virological surveillance,
seem to be the optimal method to monitor the full scope
of the influenza pandemic (from mild to severe influenza)
in Vojvodina.
Keywords
Hrčak ID:
71425
URI
Publication date:
15.4.2011.
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