Social and Economic Impacts of School Influenza Outbreaks in England: Survey of Caregivers.
Influenza is a cause of considerable morbidity in England, particularly among children. A total of 39% of all influenza-attributable general practitioner consultations and 37% of all influenza-attributable hospital admissions occur in those aged under 15 years. Few studies have quantified the impact of influenza outbreaks on families. We assessed this impact during 2 influenza seasons.



We used questionnaires to obtain data in primary schools that reported an outbreak of an influenza-like-illness (ILI). We sought data on the loss of productivity, costs borne by families and loss in health-related quality of life (HRQoL). ILIs were identified using the symptoms criteria from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control and the UK Flusurvey.



For each child reporting ILI, mean school absence was 3.8 days (95% confidence interval [CI]): 3.0-4.8) with mean work absence for caregivers reported as 3.7 days (95% CI: 2.7-4.8). The mean loss in HRQoL was 2.1 quality-adjusted life days (95% CI: 1.5-2.7). The estimated total pediatric burden of disease for reported school-based outbreaks during the 2 influenza seasons was 105.3 QALYs (95% CI: 77.7-139.0).



This study shows the potential social and economic benefit of vaccination of children during mild influenza seasons.
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Centre for the Mathematical Modelling of Infectious Diseases, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, London WC1E 7HT, UK.
Dominic
D
Thorrington
Public Health England, Field Epidemiology Services London, 151 Buckingham Palace Road, London SW1W 9SZ, UK.
Sooria
S
Balasegaram
Public Health England, Field Epidemiology Service Liverpool, 5th Floor, Rail House, Lord Nelson Street, Liverpool L1 1JF, UK.
Paul
P
Cleary
Public Health England, NHS England Lancashire & Greater Manchester, 4th Floor, 3 Piccadilly Place, Manchester M1 3BN, UK.
Catherine
C
Hay
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Centre for the Mathematical Modelling of Infectious Diseases, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, London WC1E 7HT, UK.
Ken
K
Eames
D017028:Caregivers; D017281:Cost of Illness; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D004651:Employment; D004739:England / Q000453:epidemiology; D005102:Health Expenditures; D006291:Health Policy; D006296:Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D007251:Influenza, Human / Q000191:economics* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011788:Quality of Life; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012574:Schools; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
child and adolescent health; communicable diseases; health policy; primary care; school health services; statistics