title: Fatal cases associated with pandemic influenza A (H1N1) reported in Greece.
abstract: Between 18 May 2009 and 3 May 2010, a total of 149 fatal cases associated with pandemic influenza A (H1N1) were reported in Greece. Detailed case-based epidemiological information was available for the large majority of fatal cases. The time distribution follows an epidemic curve with a peak in the beginning of December 2009 and a second peak one month later. This is similar to that of laboratory confirmed cases and influenza-like illness cases from our sentinel surveillance system, with two weeks delay. The most commonly reported underlying conditions were chronic cardiovascular disease and immunosuppression, while the most frequently identified risk factor was obesity. These findings should be taken into consideration, when vaccination strategies are employed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiological Surveillance and Intervention, Hellenic Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Athanasiou
authors.forename: Theodore
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Lytras
authors.forename: Georgia
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Spala
authors.forename: Eleni
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Triantafyllou
authors.forename: Kassiani
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Gkolfinopoulou
authors.forename: Georgios
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Theocharopoulos
authors.forename: Stavros
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Patrinos
authors.forename: Kostas
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Danis
authors.forename: Marios
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Detsis
authors.forename: Sotirios
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tsiodras
authors.forename: Stefanos
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bonovas
authors.forename: Takis
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Panagiotopoulos