title: Age-specific differences in influenza virus type and subtype distribution in the 2012/2013 season in 12 European countries.
abstract: The epidemiology of seasonal influenza is influenced by age. During the influenza season, the European Influenza Surveillance Network (EISN) reports weekly virological and syndromic surveillance data [mostly influenza-like illness (ILI)] based on national networks of sentinel primary-care providers. Aggregated numbers by age group are available for ILI, but not linked to the virological data. At the end of the influenza season 2012/2013, all EISN laboratories were invited to submit a subset of their virological data for this season, including information on age. The analysis by age group suggests that the overall distribution of circulating (sub)types may mask substantial differences between age groups. Thus, in cases aged 5-14 years, 75% tested positive for influenza B virus whereas all other age groups had an even distribution of influenza A and B viruses. This means that the intepretation of syndromic surveillance data without age group-specific virological data may be misleading. Surveillance at the European level would benefit from the reporting of age-specific influenza data.
authors: European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC),Solna,Sweden.
authors: J
authors: J
authors: Beauté
authors: European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC),Solna,Sweden.
authors: P
authors: P
authors: Zucs
authors: National Centre of Infectious and Parasitic Diseases,Sofia,Bulgaria.
authors: N
authors: N
authors: Korsun
authors: Statens Serum Institut,Copenhagen,Denmark.
authors: K
authors: K
authors: Bragstad
authors: Institut Pasteur,Paris,France.
authors: V
authors: V
authors: Enouf
authors: Hellenic Pasteur Institute,Athens,Greece.
authors: A
authors: A
authors: Kossyvakis
authors: Nacionalinė Visuomenės Sveikatos Priežiūros Laboratorija,Vilnius,Lithuania.
authors: A
authors: A
authors: Griškevičius
authors: Laboratoire National de Santé,Dudelange,Luxembourg.
authors: C M
authors: CM
authors: Olinger
authors: National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM),Bilthoven,The Netherlands.
authors: A
authors: A
authors: Meijer
authors: Instituto Nacional de Saúde Doutor Ricardo Jorge,Lisbon,Portugal.
authors: R
authors: R
authors: Guiomar
authors: National Laboratory for Health,Environment and Food,Laboratory for Public Health Virology,Ljubljana,Slovenia.
authors: K
authors: K
authors: Prosenc
authors: Public Health Authority of the Slovak Republic,Bratislava,Slovak Republic.
authors: E
authors: E
authors: Staroňová
authors: Instituto de Salud Carlos III,Madrid,Spain.
authors: C
authors: C
authors: Delgado
authors: Public Health Agency of Sweden,Solna,Sweden.
authors: M
authors: M
authors: Brytting
authors: European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC),Solna,Sweden.
authors: E
authors: E
authors: Broberg
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005060:Europe / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007251:Influenza, Human / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000821:virology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009975:Orthomyxoviridae / Q000145:classification* / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Influenza; influenza (seasonal); respiratory infections; surveillance; surveillance system
references: Vaccine. 2006 Feb 20;24(8):1047-62
references: 16298026
references: Br J Gen Pract. 2004 Sep;54(506):684-9
references: 15353055
references: Epidemiol Infect. 2013 Oct;141(10):2196-204
references: 23217849
references: MMWR Recomm Rep. 2013 Sep 20;62(RR-07):1-43
references: 24048214
references: Am J Epidemiol. 2011 Jul 1;174(1):109-17
references: 21602300
references: Euro Surveill. 2012 Mar 01;17(9):
references: 22401564
references: Lancet. 2010 May 1;375(9725):1545-55
references: 20399493
references: Vaccine. 2012 Jul 27;30(35):5222-8
references: 22721901
references: BMC Public Health. 2012 Nov 12;12:968
references: 23146107
references: BMJ. 2013 Aug 23;347:f5061
references: 23974637
references: Epidemiol Infect. 2014 Sep;142(9):1809-12
references: 24814635
references: Lancet Respir Med. 2014 Jun;2(6):445-54
references: 24717637
references: N Engl J Med. 2006 Jul 6;355(1):31-40
references: 16822994
references: PLoS One. 2013 May 03;8(5):e62685
references: 23671624
references: Euro Surveill. 2014 Feb 06;19(5):
references: 24524235
references: Lancet. 1999 Oct 9;354(9186):1277-82
references: 10520648
references: Annu Rev Med. 2000;51:407-21
references: 10774473
references: Respirology. 2003 Jun;8(2):231-3
references: 12753540
references: PLoS One. 2012;7(1):e30279
references: 22291929
references: Vaccine. 2005 Jan 26;23(10):1284-93
references: 15652671
references: Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. 2010 May;31(5):535-7
references: 20334548
references: PLoS One. 2012;7(12):e51653
references: 23240050
references: Euro Surveill. 2013 Jan 31;18(5):
references: 23399425
references: Vaccine. 2003 May 1;21(16):1749-53
references: 12686088
references: N Engl J Med. 2005 Apr 28;352(17):1749-59
references: 15858184
references: Lancet. 2003 Nov 22;362(9397):1733-45
references: 14643124
references: PLoS One. 2011;6(7):e21690
references: 21747947