Unchanged Severity of Influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 Infection in Children during First Postpandemic Season

Details

• Alternative Title:
  Emerg Infect Dis
• Personal Author:
  Altmann, Mathias ; Fiebig, Lena ; Buda, Silke ; von Kries, Rüdiger ; Dehnert, Manuel ; Haas, Walter
• Description:
  We conducted a nationwide hospital-based prospective study in Germany of influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 cases among children <15 years of age admitted to pediatric intensive care units and related deaths during the 2009-10 pandemic and the 2010-11 postpandemic influenza seasons. We identified 156 eligible patients: 112 in 2009-10 and 44 in 2010-11. Although a shift to younger patients occurred in 2010-11 (median age 3.2 vs. 5.3 years), infants <1 year of age remained the most affected. Underlying immunosuppression was a risk factor for hospital-acquired infections (p = 0.013), which accounted for 14% of cases. Myocarditis was predictive of death (p = 0.006). Of the 156 case-patients, 17% died; the difference between seasons was not significant (p = 0.473). Our findings stress the challenge of preventing severe postpandemic influenza infection in children and the need to prevent nosocomial transmission of influenza virus, especially in immunosuppressed children.
• Subjects:
  Adolescent Age Factors Child Child, Preschool Cross Infection History, 21St Century Humans Infant Influenza, Human Influenza A Virus, H1N1 Subtype Pandemics Population Surveillance Prospective Studies Risk Factors Seasons

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• Source:
  Emerg Infect Dis. 18(11):1755-1762.
• Document Type:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Germany
• Volume:
  18
• Issue:
  11
• Collection(s):
  Emerging Infectious Diseases
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha256:062c2e0bd7c8c44709ae00c0f9d871451ab8c7ab45d80763d033f5e903a02715
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/18881/cdc_18881_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 215.45 KB ]