Abstract
BackgroundIn 2010, influenza, influenza-like illness (ILI) and acute respiratory infection (ARI) surveillance was established by the government of Burkina Faso. We provide preliminary descriptive results from this surveillance activity.MethodsThe study period was 2013 through 2015. Two primary healthcare facilities in Bobo-Dioulasso district reported ILI in outpatients. Influenza virology, using reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (rRT-PCR), was available for a proportion of ILI patients. One hospital, in the capital Ouagadougou, reported ARI in both outpatients and inpatients (hospitalized). Inpatients admitted with ARI were considered severe ARI (SARI). We estimated the proportion of primary care outpatient visits that were ILI, and the proportion of those that were due to influenza, by age. We estimated the proportion of hospital outpatient visits that were ARI and the proportion of those that were SARI, by age.ResultsAmong combined outpatient visits in the Bobo-Dioulasso facilities, 19.6% were for ILI. One half (49.9%) of outpatient visits in infants and 30.9% in 1–4 year-olds were ILI. Among ILI outpatient visits 14.8% were due to influenza virus and, of these, 58.5% were type A and 41.5% type B. At the Ouagadougou hospital, 6.7% of outpatient visits were ARI, and 22.3% of those were SARI. The highest proportions of ARI were among infants (19.8%) and 1–4 year-olds (16.0%). The proportion of ARI that was SARI was highest among ≥15 year-olds (31.5%) followed by 1–4 year-olds (22.4%). Overall, 4.1% of SARI patients died.ConclusionsThese preliminary data indicate the importance of respiratory infections among health care attendances in Burkina Faso, and influenza may be an important contributor to these.
Highlights
In 2010, influenza, influenza-like illness (ILI) and acute respiratory infection (ARI) surveillance was established by the government of Burkina Faso
The ILI proportion decreased with increasing age, and 49.9% of children aged < 1 year presented with ILI (Table 1)
The proportion of virologically tested ILI visits that were positive for influenza are shown
Summary
In 2010, influenza, influenza-like illness (ILI) and acute respiratory infection (ARI) surveillance was established by the government of Burkina Faso. We provide preliminary descriptive results from this surveillance activity. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), seasonal influenza in humans is estimated to result annually in 3 to 5 million cases of severe illness and 290,000 to 650,000 deaths worldwide [1]. Burkina Faso lacks information on the epidemiology and burden of human influenza. In 2010, government sentinel surveillance for influenza commenced following the occurrence of pandemic influenza globally in 2009. Initial surveillance results confirmed the presence of circulating human influenza in the country. From 2010 to 2016, about 600 clinical swabs from all sites were analyzed per year by the Burkina Faso National Influenza Reference Laboratory (NIRL). During 2010–2012, the NIRL found that 6.6% of swabs collected from patients
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