Influenza-like illness surveillance on the California-Mexico border, 2004-2009.
BACKGROUND
Since 2004, the Naval Health Research Center, with San Diego and Imperial counties, has collaborated with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to conduct respiratory disease surveillance in the US-Mexico border region. In 2007, the Secretariat of Health, Mexico and the Institute of Public Health of Baja California joined the collaboration.


OBJECTIVE
The identification of circulating respiratory pathogens in respiratory specimens from patients with influenza-like illness (ILI).


METHODS
Demographic, symptom information and respiratory swabs were collected from enrollees who met the case definition for ILI. Specimens underwent PCR testing and culture in virology and bacteriology.


RESULTS
From 2004 through 2009, 1855 persons were sampled. Overall, 36% of the participants had a pathogen identified. The most frequent pathogen was influenza (25%), with those aged 6-15 years the most frequently affected. In April 2009, a young female participant from Imperial County, California, was among the first documented cases of 2009 H1N1. Additional pathogens included influenza B, adenovirus, parainfluenza virus, respiratory syncytial virus, enterovirus, herpes simplex virus, Streptococcus pneumoniae, and Streptococcus pyogenes.


CONCLUSIONS
The US-Mexico border is one of the busiest in the world, with a large number of daily crossings. Due to its traffic, this area is an ideal location for surveillance sites. We identified a pathogen in 36% of the specimens tested, with influenza A the most common pathogen. A number of other viral and bacterial respiratory pathogens were identified. An understanding of the incidence of respiratory pathogens in border populations is useful for development of regional vaccination and disease prevention responses.
Naval Health Research Center, San Diego, CA, USA. peter.kammerer@med.navy.mil
Peter E
PE
Kammerer
Sonia
S
Montiel
Paula
P
Kriner
Ietza
I
Bojorquez
Veronica
V
Bejarano Ramirez
Martha
M
Vazquez-Erlbeck
Eduardo
E
Azziz-Baumgartner
Patrick J
PJ
Blair
A W
AW
Hawksworth
D J
DJ
Faix
M L
ML
Nava
L Wong
LW
Lopez
E
E
Palacios
R
R
Flores
M
M
Fonseca-Ford
A
A
Phippard
K
K
Lopez
J
J
Johnson
J G
JG
Bustamante Moreno
K L
KL
Russell
S H
SH
Waterman
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001419:Bacteria / Q000145:classification / Q000302:isolation & purification; D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology; D001431:Bacteriological Techniques; D002140:California / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D008800:Mexico / Q000453:epidemiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012141:Respiratory Tract Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology / Q000821:virology*; D014776:Virus Cultivation; D014777:Virus Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000821:virology*; D014780:Viruses / Q000145:classification* / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D055815:Young Adult