title: Annual report of the National Influenza Surveillance Scheme, 2002.
abstract: Surveillance for influenza in Australia in 2002 was based on notifications to the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance system from all states and territories, national and state-based sentinel practice consultations for influenza-like illness and reports of influenza virus isolations from a laboratory network. The impact of influenza was assessed by absenteeism data from a major national employer. Influenza A was the dominant type, 99 per cent of which were subtype H3N2 with only a single H1 isolate, which was identified as H1N2. The H3N2 isolates were closely related to the vaccine strain A/Moscow/10/99 and the A/Panama/2007/99, with less than one per cent showing genetic variation. Influenza B made up 21 per cent of circulating influenza and the majority of B strains were of the B/Victoria lineage, but had a haemagglutinin closely related to the B/Hong Kong/330/2001 strain. This strain was associated with two outbreaks but a proportion of vaccinees with the 2002 vaccine showed protective antibody titres. The 2002 influenza vaccine was given to 77 per cent of Australians over 65 years.
authors.affiliation: Surveillance and Epidemiology Section, Communicable Diseases Branch, Department of Health and Ageing, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. kefle.yohannes@health.gov.au
authors.forename: Keflemariam
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yohannes
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Roche
authors.forename: Jenean
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Spencer
authors.forename: Alan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hampson
mesh_terms: D000041:Absenteeism; D001315:Australia / Q000453:epidemiology; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D005194:Family Practice / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D007251:Influenza, Human / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011159:Population Surveillance / Q000379:methods*; D018571:Sentinel Surveillance; D014944:World Health Organization