title: Characterization of influenza outbreaks in Lebanon during the 2013/14 and 2014/15 seasons.
abstract: Despite the significant burden of influenza outbreaks, active disease monitoring has been largely absent in the Middle East, including Lebanon. In this study we characterized influenza virus in 440 nasopharyngeal swabs collected from patients with acute respiratory infections during two influenza seasons in Lebanon. Influenza A(H3N2) was dominant in the 2013/14 season while the A(H1N1)pdm09 and B/Yamagata strains were most prevalent in the 2014/15 season. All tested isolates were susceptible to 4 neuraminidase inhibitors (oseltamivir, zanamivir, peramivir and laninamivir). Genetic analysis of the haemagglutinin gene revealed multiple introductions of influenza viruses into Lebanon from different geographic sources during each season. Additionally, large data gaps were identified in the Middle East region, as indicated by the lack of current influenza sequences in the database from many countries in the region.
authors.affiliation: Division of International Health, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Niigata University, Niigata, Japan.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Saito
authors.affiliation: Division of International Health, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Niigata University, Niigata, Japan.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Akinobu
authors.affiliation: Dept. Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine.
authors.forename: R A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Shaker
authors.affiliation: Dept. Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine.
authors.forename: I S
authors.initials: IS
authors.lastname: Akel
authors.affiliation: Dept. Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Assaf-Casals
authors.affiliation: Dept. Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lteif
authors.affiliation: Division of International Health, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Niigata University, Niigata, Japan.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Odagiri
authors.affiliation: Division of International Health, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Niigata University, Niigata, Japan.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Inaba
authors.affiliation: Dept. Experimental Pathology, Immunology and Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine; Center for Infectious Diseases Research, Faculty of Medicine.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Soudani
authors.affiliation: Dept. Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Khafaja
authors.affiliation: Dept. Pediatrics, Makassed General Hospital Beirut, Lebanon.
authors.forename: S T
authors.initials: ST
authors.lastname: Ghanem
authors.affiliation: Dept. Pediatrics, Makassed General Hospital Beirut, Lebanon.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rajab
authors.affiliation: Division of International Health, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Niigata University, Niigata, Japan.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Shobugawa
authors.affiliation: Dept. Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine; Center for Infectious Diseases Research, Faculty of Medicine; Dept. Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon.
authors.forename: G S
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: Dbaibo
authors.affiliation: Dept. Experimental Pathology, Immunology and Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine; Center for Infectious Diseases Research, Faculty of Medicine.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zaraket
mesh_terms: D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D006801:Humans; D053118:Influenza A Virus, H1N1 Subtype / Q000302:isolation & purification; D053122:Influenza A Virus, H3N2 Subtype / Q000302:isolation & purification; D007251:Influenza, Human / Q000453:epidemiology*; D007861:Lebanon / Q000453:epidemiology; D012621:Seasons