Abstract
BackgroundWe describe the temporal variation in viral agents detected in influenza like illness (ILI) patients before and after the appearance of the ongoing pandemic influenza A (H1N1) (pH1N1) in Peru between 4-January and 13-July 2009.MethodsAt the health centers, one oropharyngeal swab was obtained for viral isolation. From epidemiological week (EW) 1 to 18, at the US Naval Medical Research Center Detachment (NMRCD) in Lima, the specimens were inoculated into four cell lines for virus isolation. In addition, from EW 19 to 28, the specimens were also analyzed by real time-polymerase-chain-reaction (rRT-PCR).ResultsWe enrolled 2,872 patients: 1,422 cases before the appearance of the pH1N1 virus, and 1,450 during the pandemic. Non-pH1N1 influenza A virus was the predominant viral strain circulating in Peru through (EW) 18, representing 57.8% of the confirmed cases; however, this predominance shifted to pH1N1 (51.5%) from EW 19–28. During this study period, most of pH1N1 cases were diagnosed in the capital city (Lima) followed by other cities including Cusco and Trujillo. In contrast, novel influenza cases were essentially absent in the tropical rain forest (jungle) cities during our study period. The city of Iquitos (Jungle) had the highest number of influenza B cases and only one pH1N1 case.ConclusionsThe viral distribution in Peru changed upon the introduction of the pH1N1 virus compared to previous months. Although influenza A viruses continue to be the predominant viral pathogen, the pH1N1 virus predominated over the other influenza A viruses.
Highlights
The influenza virus causes significant morbidity and mortality worldwide [1]
Parainfluenza viruses (3.2%), adenovirus (1.8%), respiratory syncytial virus (0.6%), enterovirus (0.5%), herpes virus (HSV; 2.6%) and other viruses (0.1%) were isolated from patient specimens, which collectively contributed to 8.8% of all influenza like illness (ILI) cases [3]
A total of 1,422 patients were recruited during surveillance activities before the appearance of pH1N1 (EW 1–18), and 1450 patients were recruited during the pandemic period (EW 19–28)
Summary
Influenza circulation in Peru has been detected throughout the whole year during 2006 to 2008 [3] and within that period a total of 6,308 patients with influenza-like illness (ILI) were enrolled in this passive surveillance study. At least one respiratory virus was isolated from 2,688 (42.6%) of the patients, with etiologies varying by age and geographical region. Parainfluenza viruses (3.2%), adenovirus (1.8%), respiratory syncytial virus (0.6%), enterovirus (0.5%), herpes virus (HSV; 2.6%) and other viruses (0.1%) were isolated from patient specimens, which collectively contributed to 8.8% of all ILI cases [3]. We describe the temporal variation in viral agents detected in influenza like illness (ILI) patients before and after the appearance of the ongoing pandemic influenza A (H1N1) (pH1N1) in Peru between 4-January and 13-July 2009
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