TY - JOUR
T1 - Trends in Influenza Infections in Three States of India from 2015–2021
T2 - Has There Been a Change during COVID-19 Pandemic?
AU - Jayaram, Anup
AU - Jagadesh, Anitha
AU - Kumar, Ajay M.V.
AU - Davtyan, Hayk
AU - Thekkur, Pruthu
AU - Del Rio Vilas, Victor J.
AU - Mandal, Shrawan Kumar
AU - Sudandiradas, Robin
AU - Babu, Naren
AU - Varamballi, Prasad
AU - Shetty, Ujwal
AU - Mukhopadhyay, Chiranjay
N1 - Funding Information:
WHO/SEARO has contributed designated funding for this SORT IT initiative. TDR is able to conduct its work thanks to the commitment and support from a variety of funders. A full list of TDR donors is available at: https://tdr.who.int/about-us/our-donors (accessed on 10 May 222).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
PY - 2022/6
Y1 - 2022/6
N2 - The COVID-19 pandemic and public health response to the pandemic has caused huge setbacks in the management of other infectious diseases. In the present study, we aimed to (i) assess the trends in numbers of samples from patients with influenza-like illness and severe acute respiratory syndrome tested for influenza and the number and proportion of cases detected from 2015–2021 and (ii) examine if there were changes during the COVID-19 period (2020–2021) compared to the pre-COVID-19 period (2015–2019) in three states of India. The median (IQR) number of samples tested per month during the pre-COVID-19 period was 653 (395–1245), compared to 27 (11–98) during the COVID-19 period (p value < 0.001). The median (IQR) number of influenza cases detected per month during the pre-COVID-19 period was 190 (113–372), compared to 29 (27–30) during the COVID-19 period (p value < 0.001). Interrupted time series analysis (adjusting for seasonality and testing charges) confirmed a significant reduction in the total number of samples tested and influenza cases detected during the COVID-19 period. However, there was no change in the influenza positivity rate between pre-COVID-19 (29%) and COVID-19 (30%) period. These findings suggest that COVID-19-related disruptions, poor health-seeking behavior, and overburdened health systems might have led to a reduction in reported influenza cases rather than a true reduction in disease transmission.
AB - The COVID-19 pandemic and public health response to the pandemic has caused huge setbacks in the management of other infectious diseases. In the present study, we aimed to (i) assess the trends in numbers of samples from patients with influenza-like illness and severe acute respiratory syndrome tested for influenza and the number and proportion of cases detected from 2015–2021 and (ii) examine if there were changes during the COVID-19 period (2020–2021) compared to the pre-COVID-19 period (2015–2019) in three states of India. The median (IQR) number of samples tested per month during the pre-COVID-19 period was 653 (395–1245), compared to 27 (11–98) during the COVID-19 period (p value < 0.001). The median (IQR) number of influenza cases detected per month during the pre-COVID-19 period was 190 (113–372), compared to 29 (27–30) during the COVID-19 period (p value < 0.001). Interrupted time series analysis (adjusting for seasonality and testing charges) confirmed a significant reduction in the total number of samples tested and influenza cases detected during the COVID-19 period. However, there was no change in the influenza positivity rate between pre-COVID-19 (29%) and COVID-19 (30%) period. These findings suggest that COVID-19-related disruptions, poor health-seeking behavior, and overburdened health systems might have led to a reduction in reported influenza cases rather than a true reduction in disease transmission.
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U2 - 10.3390/tropicalmed7060110
DO - 10.3390/tropicalmed7060110
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85132877458
SN - 2414-6366
VL - 7
JO - Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease
JF - Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease
IS - 6
M1 - 110
ER -
