Details:

Alternative Title:
Pan Afr Med J
Personal Author:
Kleynhans, Jackie ; Treurnicht, Florette Kathleen ; Cohen, Cheryl ; Vedan, Theesan ; Seleka, Mpho ; ... More +
Kleynhans, Jackie ; Treurnicht, Florette Kathleen ; Cohen, Cheryl ; Vedan, Theesan ; Seleka, Mpho ; Maki, Lwando ; von Gottberg, Anne ; McCarthy, Kerrigan ; Ramkrishna, Wayne ; McMorrow, Meredith ; Walaza, Sibongile Less -
Description:
Introduction

We investigated an outbreak of influenza-like illness (ILI) at a boarding school in Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. We aimed to confirm the etiological agent, estimate attack rates and identify risk factors for illness.

Methods

We conducted a retrospective cohort study including senior school boarders (n=308). Students with ILI (cough and fever) were identified through school medical records. We also conducted a questionnaire-based cross-sectional study among senior students including boarders (n=107) and day students (n=45). We collected respiratory specimens for respiratory pathogen testing by real-time polymerase chain reaction from a subset of symptomatic students. We calculated attack rates of medically attended ILI (medILI) and identified factors associated with medILI using logistic regression. We calculated seasonal influenza vaccine effectiveness (VE) against medILI.

Results

Influenza A (H3N2) virus was detected in 61% (23/38) of specimens. Attack rate for medILI was 13% among boarders (39/308) in the cohort study and 20% in both day students (9/45) and boarders (21/107) in the cross-sectional study. Playing squash was associated with medILI (aOR 5.35, 95% confidence interval [95% CI]: 1.68-17.07). Of the boarders, 19% (57/308) were vaccinated before the outbreak. The adjusted VE against medILI was 18% (aOR 0.82, 95% CI 0.38-1.78). The outbreak led to cancellation of several events and the need for academic remedial sessions.

Conclusion

We confirmed an influenza A (H3N2) virus outbreak with a high attack rate. The outbreak affected academic and sports activities. Participation in sports and social gatherings while experiencing ILI should be discouraged to reduce viral transmission and impact on school activities.


Subject:
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Adolescent Child Cohort Studies Cross-Sectional Studies Disease Outbreaks Female Humans Influenza, Human Influenza A Virus, H3N2 Subtype Influenza Vaccines Male Retrospective Studies Risk Factors Schools Students Young Adult
Source:
Pan Afr Med J. 2019; 33
Pubmed ID:
31384357
Pubmed Central ID:
PMC6658148
Document Type:
Journal Article
Place as Subject:
South Africa
Collection(s):
CDC Public Access
Main Document Checksum:
[+]
urn:sha256:37522ff3c24cabfbc60112e76978c28ce028401f103d9b3fddccb6147b32a351
Download URL:
https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/84230/cdc_84230_DS1.pdf
File Type:

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