Article: High incidence of severe influenza among individuals over 50 years of age

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TitleHigh incidence of severe influenza among individuals over 50 years of age
AuthorsZhang, AJX
To, KKW
Tse, H
Chan, KH
Guo, KY
Li, C
Hung, IFN
Chan, JFW
Chen, H
Tam, S
Yuen, KY
Issue Date2011
PublisherAmerican Society for Microbiology. The Journal's web site is located at http://cdli.asm.org/
CitationClinical And Vaccine Immunology, 2011, v. 18 n. 11, p. 1918-1924 [How to Cite?]
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1128/CVI.05357-11
AbstractAge-specific epidemiological data on asymptomatic, symptomatic, and severe infections are essential for public health policies on combating influenza. In this study, we incorporated data on microbiologically confirmed infections and seroprevalence to comprehensively describe the epidemiology of pandemic H1N1 2009 influenza. Seroprevalence was determined from 1,795 random serum samples collected in our hospital in January 2007 (before the first wave of the pandemic) and March 2010 (after the second wave). Data on microbiologically confirmed infection and severe cases were obtained from the Centre for Health Protection in Hong Kong. Severe cases were most common in the 51- to 60-year-old age group. The microbiologically confirmed incidence rate was highest for children aged ≤10 years and dropped sharply for the adult population (ρ = -1.0; P < 0.01), but the incidence rate for severe disease was highest for the 51- to 60-year-old age group. For the 51- to 60-year-old age group, the seroprevalence was similar to that for the younger age groups, but the proportion of severe cases relative to seroprevalence was significantly higher than that for 11- to 50-year-old age groups. As judged from the percentage of specimens positive for other respiratory viruses compared with that for pandemic H1N1 virus, the impact of symptomatic disease due to pandemic H1N1 virus was higher than that for other respiratory viruses in people aged ≤50 years. In conclusion, the 51- to 60-year-old age group, which had the highest overall incidence and the highest rate of severe disease but is currently not considered by the World Health Organization to be an at-risk group, should be prioritized for influenza vaccination in areas where universal influenza vaccination is not practiced. Copyright © 2011, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.
ISSN1556-6811
2011 Impact Factor: 2.546
2011 SCImago Journal Rankings: 0.248
DOIhttp://dx.doi.org/10.1128/CVI.05357-11
ISI Accession Number IDWOS:000296613800019
Funding AgencyGrant Number
National Science and Technology Major Project of China2009ZX10004-306
Ted Sun Foundation
Clinical Infectious Diseases Research Endowment Fund
Food and Health Bureau
Research Grants Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China
Funding Information:

This work was supported by the National Science and Technology Major Project of China (grant 2009ZX10004-306), the Ted Sun Foundation, the Clinical Infectious Diseases Research Endowment Fund from Teresa Wong On Yik, the Research Fund for the Control of Infectious Diseases of the Food and Health Bureau, and the Research Grants Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China.

PubMed Central IDPMC3209033
ReferencesReferences in Scopus
DC Field
Value
dc.contributor.authorZhang, AJX
dc.contributor.authorTo, KKW
dc.contributor.authorTse, H
dc.contributor.authorChan, KH
dc.contributor.authorGuo, KY
dc.contributor.authorLi, C
dc.contributor.authorHung, IFN
dc.contributor.authorChan, JFW
dc.contributor.authorChen, H
dc.contributor.authorTam, S
dc.contributor.authorYuen, KY
dc.date.accessioned2012-08-08T08:51:59Z
dc.date.available2012-08-08T08:51:59Z
dc.date.issued2011
dc.description.abstractAge-specific epidemiological data on asymptomatic, symptomatic, and severe infections are essential for public health policies on combating influenza. In this study, we incorporated data on microbiologically confirmed infections and seroprevalence to comprehensively describe the epidemiology of pandemic H1N1 2009 influenza. Seroprevalence was determined from 1,795 random serum samples collected in our hospital in January 2007 (before the first wave of the pandemic) and March 2010 (after the second wave). Data on microbiologically confirmed infection and severe cases were obtained from the Centre for Health Protection in Hong Kong. Severe cases were most common in the 51- to 60-year-old age group. The microbiologically confirmed incidence rate was highest for children aged ≤10 years and dropped sharply for the adult population (ρ = -1.0; P < 0.01), but the incidence rate for severe disease was highest for the 51- to 60-year-old age group. For the 51- to 60-year-old age group, the seroprevalence was similar to that for the younger age groups, but the proportion of severe cases relative to seroprevalence was significantly higher than that for 11- to 50-year-old age groups. As judged from the percentage of specimens positive for other respiratory viruses compared with that for pandemic H1N1 virus, the impact of symptomatic disease due to pandemic H1N1 virus was higher than that for other respiratory viruses in people aged ≤50 years. In conclusion, the 51- to 60-year-old age group, which had the highest overall incidence and the highest rate of severe disease but is currently not considered by the World Health Organization to be an at-risk group, should be prioritized for influenza vaccination in areas where universal influenza vaccination is not practiced. Copyright © 2011, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.
dc.description.naturelink_to_OA_fulltext
dc.identifier.citationClinical And Vaccine Immunology, 2011, v. 18 n. 11, p. 1918-1924 [How to Cite?]
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1128/CVI.05357-11
dc.identifier.doihttp://dx.doi.org/10.1128/CVI.05357-11
dc.identifier.epage1924
dc.identifier.hkuros208520
dc.identifier.hkuros203198
dc.identifier.isiWOS:000296613800019
Funding AgencyGrant Number
National Science and Technology Major Project of China2009ZX10004-306
Ted Sun Foundation
Clinical Infectious Diseases Research Endowment Fund
Food and Health Bureau
Research Grants Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China
Funding Information:

This work was supported by the National Science and Technology Major Project of China (grant 2009ZX10004-306), the Ted Sun Foundation, the Clinical Infectious Diseases Research Endowment Fund from Teresa Wong On Yik, the Research Fund for the Control of Infectious Diseases of the Food and Health Bureau, and the Research Grants Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China.

dc.identifier.issn1556-6811
2011 Impact Factor: 2.546
2011 SCImago Journal Rankings: 0.248
dc.identifier.issue11
dc.identifier.pmcidPMC3209033
dc.identifier.pmid21900532
dc.identifier.scopuseid_2-s2.0-80455128645
dc.identifier.spage1918
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10722/157654
dc.identifier.volume18
dc.languageeng
dc.publisherAmerican Society for Microbiology. The Journal's web site is located at http://cdli.asm.org/
dc.publisher.placeUnited States
dc.relation.ispartofClinical and Vaccine Immunology
dc.relation.referencesReferences in Scopus
dc.subject.meshAdolescent
dc.subject.meshAdult
dc.subject.meshAge Factors
dc.subject.meshAged
dc.subject.meshAged, 80 And Over
dc.subject.meshChild
dc.subject.meshChild, Preschool
dc.subject.meshFemale
dc.subject.meshHong Kong - Epidemiology
dc.subject.meshHumans
dc.subject.meshIncidence
dc.subject.meshInfant
dc.subject.meshInfluenza A Virus, H1n1 Subtype - Isolation & Purification - Pathogenicity
dc.subject.meshInfluenza, Human - Epidemiology - Pathology - Virology
dc.subject.meshMale
dc.subject.meshMiddle Aged
dc.subject.meshSeverity Of Illness Index
dc.subject.meshYoung Adult
dc.titleHigh incidence of severe influenza among individuals over 50 years of age
dc.typeArticle
Author Affiliations
  1. The University of Hong Kong
  2. Queen Mary Hospital Hong Kong