ABSTRACT

Influenza is a highly contagious airborne disease that causes seasonal epidemics and pandemics. The present study is aimed to determine the epidemiological aspects of influenza virus in and around Chennai, Tamilnadu for a period of six years from 2014 to 2019.The study was attempted to identify and analyze the distribution of influenza viruses with respect to the age groups, seasonality and co-morbid conditions of patients during the study period besides studying the symptomatic profile of patients. Nasopharyngeal swabs were collected from ILI/OPD patients from Tertiary care centers. Real time PCR as per CDC guidelines was performed for detection of influenza viruses. A total of 3533 samples collected during the six years were subjected to Real Time PCR analysis, out of which 411 (11.63%) were found to be positive for influenza. The pdmA/H1N1 09 showed 59.12% positivity whereas 25.30% positivity was observed for A/H3N2 strains. Influenza B was confirmed in 64 cases (15.57%). The seasonal pattern of influenza appeared to be diversified in the subtropical region. Moreover, this study highlighted the occurrence of epidemics or waves on a regular basis following a typical biennial pattern. This study on correlation of influenza occurrence and distribution with meteorological factors, symptomatic profile of patients and the influence of co-morbid conditions provide data with epidemiological significance useful for further investigation on burden due to respiratory viral infectious diseases. Keywords: Influenza; Epidemiology; Real-time PCR; Seasonality; Co-morbid conditions
Publication date: 01/05/2023

https://ijbpas.com/pdf/2023/May/MS_IJBPAS_2023_7155.pdf

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https://doi.org/10.31032/IJBPAS/2023/12.5.7155