Abstract
ObjectiveThe objective was to estimate the number of hospitalizations associated with influenza and RSV using data from severe acute respiratory infection (SARI) sentinel surveillance from El Alto‐La Paz. Bolivia.MethodsAll persons who met the case definition for SARI at one sentinel hospital had a clinical sample collected and analyzed by rRT‐PCR for influenza and by indirect immunofluorescence for RSV. The SARI‐influenza and SARI‐RSV case counts were stratified by six age groups. The proportion of cases captured in the sentinel hospital in relation to the non‐sentinel hospitals of area was multiplied by the age‐specific census population, to build the denominators. The annual incidence and a 95% confidence interval (CI) were estimated.ResultsDuring 2012‐2017, n = 2606 SARI cases were reported (average incidence 120/100 000 inhabitants [95% CI: 116‐124]); the average incidence of influenza‐associated SARI hospitalization was 15.3/100 000 (95% CI: 14.1‐16.7), and the average incidence of RSV‐associated SARI hospitalization was 9/100 000 inhabitants (95% CI: 8.1‐10.1). The highest incidence of influenza was among those less than one year of age (average 174.7/100 000 [range: 89.1‐299.5]), followed by those one to four years of age (average 51.8/100 000 [range: 19.8‐115.4]) and then those 65 years of age and older (average 47.7/100 000 [range: 18.8‐117]). For RSV, the highest incidence was highest among those less than one year of age (231/100 000 [range: 119.9‐322.9]).ConclusionInfluenza and RSV represent major causes of hospitalization in La Paz, Bolivia—with the highest burden among children under one year of age. Our estimates support current prevention strategies in this age group.
Highlights
Acute respiratory infections (ARI) are one of the main causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide
Clinical samples are collected from all persons that meet the severe acute respiratory infection (SARI) case definition, and in the case of Hospital Boliviano Holandés (HBH), clinical samples are processed in the national laboratory Instituto de Laboratorios en Salud (INLASA), which has diagnostic capacity for indirect immunofluorescence for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and real‐time reverse transcriptase‐polymerase chain reaction for influenza
We demonstrate the important hospitalization burden associated with influenza and RSV in La Paz, Bolivia
Summary
Acute respiratory infections (ARI) are one of the main causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) are two of the main etiological agents causing ARIs in all age groups and primarily among children, respectively Both of these viruses are associated with high transmissibility and virulence. In order to measure the incidence of influenza and other respiratory viruses, different methodologies have been utilized Some of these methodologies use data from sentinel influenza surveillance for severe acute respiratory infections (SARI) or influenza‐like illness (ILI), and others use hospital admissions or discharges paired with population demographics.[9,10]. In Bolivia, in 2011 SARI sentinel surveillance was implemented among eight sentinel hospitals—five in the city of La Paz and three in the city of Santa Cruz, to monitor influenza and RSV circulation seasonality disease severity and patient risk factors In this analysis, we sought to estimate the burden of hospitalizations associated with influenza and RSV in El Alto‐La Paz, Bolivia, using SARI sentinel surveillance data from the Hospital Boliviano Holandés (HBH) during 2012‐2017
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