Virology Service, Centre Pasteur of Cameroon, Yaounde, Cameroon.
Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Buea, Buea, Cameroon.
Influenza Other Respir Viruses. 2024 May;18(5):e13313. doi: 10.1111/irv.13313.
Influenza and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) are both respiratory viruses with similar clinical manifestations and modes of transmission. This study describes influenza data before and during the coronavirus disease pandemic (COVID-19) in Cameroon and SARS-CoV-2 data during the pandemic period.
The study ran from 2017 to 2022, and data were divided into two periods: before (2017-2019) and during (2020-2022) the COVID-19 pandemic. Nasopharyngeal samples collected from persons with respiratory illness were tested for influenza using the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) typing and subtyping assays. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the respiratory specimens were simultaneously tested for SARS-CoV-2 using the DaAn gene protocol or the Abbott real-time SARS-CoV-2 assay. The WHO average curve method was used to compare influenza virus seasonality before and during the pandemic.
A total of 6246 samples were tested. Influenza virus detection rates were significantly higher in the pre-pandemic period compared to the pandemic period (30.8% vs. 15.5%; p < 0.001). Meanwhile, the SARS-CoV-2 detection rate was 2.5%. A change in the seasonality of influenza viruses was observed from a bi-annual peak before the pandemic to no clear seasonal pattern during the pandemic. The age groups 2-4 and 5-14 years were significantly associated with higher influenza positivity rates in both pre-pandemic and pandemic periods. For SARS-CoV-2, all age groups above 15 years were the most affected population.
The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on the seasonal influenza by changing the seasonality of the virus and reducing its detection rates.
流感和严重急性呼吸综合征冠状病毒 2（SARS-CoV-2）都是具有相似临床表现和传播方式的呼吸道病毒。本研究描述了喀麦隆流感在冠状病毒病大流行（COVID-19）之前和期间的数据以及 SARS-CoV-2 在大流行期间的数据。
本研究于 2017 年至 2022 年进行，数据分为两个时期：COVID-19 大流行之前（2017-2019 年）和期间（2020-2022 年）。使用疾病控制和预防中心（CDC）分型和亚型测定法从患有呼吸道疾病的人采集鼻咽样本检测流感。在 COVID-19 大流行期间，使用大全新冠基因检测试剂盒或雅培实时 SARS-CoV-2 检测法同时检测呼吸道样本中的 SARS-CoV-2。使用世界卫生组织平均曲线法比较大流行前后流感病毒的季节性。
共检测了 6246 份样本。与大流行期间相比，大流行前流感病毒检出率明显更高（30.8% vs. 15.5%；p<0.001）。同时，SARS-CoV-2 的检出率为 2.5%。流感病毒季节性发生了变化，大流行前呈双年高峰，大流行期间无明显季节性模式。在大流行前和大流行期间，年龄组 2-4 岁和 5-14 岁与较高的流感阳性率显著相关。对于 SARS-CoV-2，15 岁以上的所有年龄组都是受影响最大的人群。
COVID-19 大流行通过改变病毒的季节性并降低其检出率，对季节性流感产生了重大影响。
