Thailand Ministry of Public Health-U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Collaboration, Nonthaburi, Thailand.
National Center for Laboratory and Epidemiology, Vientiane, Lao People's Democratic Republic.
Influenza Other Respir Viruses. 2024 Aug;18(8):e13353. doi: 10.1111/irv.13353.
Influenza sentinel surveillance in Lao PDR is used to inform seasonal vaccination programs. This analysis reviews epidemiologic and virologic characteristics of influenza virus infection over 8 years, before and after emergence of SARS-CoV-2.
Data collected for ILI and SARI surveillance during January 2016 through December 2023 were analyzed from nine hospitals. Respiratory specimens from ILI and SARI cases were tested by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction to determine influenza positivity and subtype and lineage. Aggregate counts of outpatient visits and hospitalizations were collected from hospital logbooks. Epidemiologic trends of influenza activity were described, and the proportional contribution of influenza-associated ILI and SARI to outpatient and inpatient loads was estimated.
Influenza was detected year-round with positivity peaking during September through January and occurring in most years approximately 1 month earlier in the south than the north. After decreasing in 2 years following the emergence of SARS-CoV-2, influenza positivity increased in 2022 and resumed its typical temporal trend. Influenza-associated ILI contribution to outpatient visits was highest among children ages 5-14 years (3.0% of all outpatient visits in 2023), and influenza-associated SARI contribution to inpatient hospitalizations was highest among children ages 2-4 years (2.2% of all hospitalizations in 2023).
Influenza surveillance in Lao PDR provides clinicians and public health authorities with information on geographic and temporal patterns of influenza transmission. Influenza surveillance data support current vaccination timing and recommendations to vaccinate certain populations, especially young children.
老挝人民民主共和国的流感哨点监测用于为季节性疫苗接种计划提供信息。本分析回顾了 SARS-CoV-2 出现前后 8 年期间流感病毒感染的流行病学和病毒学特征。
对 2016 年 1 月至 2023 年 12 月期间进行的 ILI 和 SARI 监测收集的数据，来自 9 家医院。通过逆转录聚合酶链反应对 ILI 和 SARI 病例的呼吸道标本进行检测，以确定流感阳性率和亚型及谱系。从医院日志中收集门诊和住院患者的汇总计数。描述流感活动的流行病学趋势，并估计流感相关 ILI 和 SARI 对门诊和住院负担的比例贡献。
流感全年均可检测到，阳性率在 9 月至 1 月期间达到峰值，且大多数年份在南部的出现时间比北部早约 1 个月。在 SARS-CoV-2 出现后的 2 年下降后，2022 年流感阳性率增加，并恢复了其典型的时间趋势。流感相关 ILI 对门诊就诊的贡献最高的是 5-14 岁儿童（2023 年所有门诊就诊的 3.0%），流感相关 SARI 对住院的贡献最高的是 2-4 岁儿童（2023 年所有住院的 2.2%）。
老挝人民民主共和国的流感监测为临床医生和公共卫生当局提供了流感传播的地理和时间模式信息。流感监测数据支持当前的疫苗接种时间和建议，为某些人群，特别是幼儿接种疫苗。
