tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
J Infect Public Health
. 2023 May 16;16(8):1158-1166.
doi: 10.1016/j.jiph.2023.05.014. Online ahead of print. Epidemiological characteristics of seasonal influenza under implementation of zero-COVID-19 strategy in China
Hui Zeng[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Meihong Cai[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Shiqi Li[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Xiaoping Chen[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Xianqun Xu[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Wen Xie[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Yong Xiong[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Xinghua Long[SUP] 5 [/SUP]
Affiliations
Objective: Respiratory viral diseases have posed a persistent threat to public health due to their high transmissibility. Influenza virus and SARS-Cov-2 are both respiratory viruses that have caused global pandemics. A zero-COVID-19 strategy is a public health policy imposed to stop community transmission of COVID-19 as soon as it is detected. In this study, we aim to examine the epidemiological characteristics of seasonal influenza in the past five years before and after the emergence of COVID-19 in China and observe the possible impact of the strategy on influenza.
Methods: Data from two data sources were retrospectively analyzed. A comparison on influenza incidence rate between Hubei and Zhejiang provinces was conducted based on data from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Then a descriptive and comparative analysis on seasonal influenza based on data from Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University and Hangzhou Ninth People`s Hospital before and after the outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 was conducted.
Results: From 2010-2017, both provinces experienced relatively low influenza activity until the 1st week of 2018, when they reached peak incidence rates of 78.16/100000PY, 34.05/100000PY respectively. Since then, influenza showed an obvious seasonality in Hubei and Zhejiang until the onset of COVID-19. During 2020 and 2021, there was a dramatic decline in influenza activity compared to 2018 and 2019. However, influenza activity seemed to rebound at the beginning of 2022 and surged in summer, with positive rates of 20.52% and 31.53% in Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University and Hangzhou Ninth People`s Hospital respectively as of the time writing this article.
Conclusions: Our results reinforce the hypothesis that zero-COVID-19 strategy may impact the epidemiological pattern of influenza. Under the complex pandemic situation, implementation of NPIs could be a beneficial strategy containing not only COVID-19 but also influenza.
Keywords: COVID-19; Influenza.
. 2023 May 16;16(8):1158-1166.
doi: 10.1016/j.jiph.2023.05.014. Online ahead of print. Epidemiological characteristics of seasonal influenza under implementation of zero-COVID-19 strategy in China
Hui Zeng[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Meihong Cai[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Shiqi Li[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Xiaoping Chen[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Xianqun Xu[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Wen Xie[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Yong Xiong[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Xinghua Long[SUP] 5 [/SUP]
Affiliations
- PMID: 37269694
- PMCID: PMC10186850
- DOI: 10.1016/j.jiph.2023.05.014
Objective: Respiratory viral diseases have posed a persistent threat to public health due to their high transmissibility. Influenza virus and SARS-Cov-2 are both respiratory viruses that have caused global pandemics. A zero-COVID-19 strategy is a public health policy imposed to stop community transmission of COVID-19 as soon as it is detected. In this study, we aim to examine the epidemiological characteristics of seasonal influenza in the past five years before and after the emergence of COVID-19 in China and observe the possible impact of the strategy on influenza.
Methods: Data from two data sources were retrospectively analyzed. A comparison on influenza incidence rate between Hubei and Zhejiang provinces was conducted based on data from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Then a descriptive and comparative analysis on seasonal influenza based on data from Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University and Hangzhou Ninth People`s Hospital before and after the outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 was conducted.
Results: From 2010-2017, both provinces experienced relatively low influenza activity until the 1st week of 2018, when they reached peak incidence rates of 78.16/100000PY, 34.05/100000PY respectively. Since then, influenza showed an obvious seasonality in Hubei and Zhejiang until the onset of COVID-19. During 2020 and 2021, there was a dramatic decline in influenza activity compared to 2018 and 2019. However, influenza activity seemed to rebound at the beginning of 2022 and surged in summer, with positive rates of 20.52% and 31.53% in Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University and Hangzhou Ninth People`s Hospital respectively as of the time writing this article.
Conclusions: Our results reinforce the hypothesis that zero-COVID-19 strategy may impact the epidemiological pattern of influenza. Under the complex pandemic situation, implementation of NPIs could be a beneficial strategy containing not only COVID-19 but also influenza.
Keywords: COVID-19; Influenza.