| ORIGINAL ARTICLE |
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| Year : 2013 | Volume
: 138
| Issue : 6 | Page : 962-968 |
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Clinical differences between influenza A (H1N1) pdm09 & influenza B infections identified through active community surveillance in north India
Debjani Ram Purakayastha1, Vivek Gupta2, Shobha Broor1, Wayne Sullender3, Karen Fowler3, Marc-Alain Widdowson4, Renu B Lal4, Anand Krishnan1
1 Department of Microbiology, Centre for Community Medicine, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India
2 The InCLEN Trust International, New Delhi, India
3 Department of Paediatrics, University of Alabama, Birmingham, Alabama, USA
4 Influenza Division, National Center for Immunization & Respiratory Diseases, US Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, Atlanta, GA 30333, USA
Correspondence Address:
Anand Krishnan
Centre for Community Medicine, All India Institute of Medical Sciences New Delhi 110 029
India
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None  | Check |
PMID: 24521643 
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Background & objectives: Most studies on the clinical presentation with influenza viruses have been conducted in outpatient or inpatient medical facilities with only a few studies in community settings. Clinical differences between influenza A (H1N1) pdm 09 and influenza B virus infections have importance for community-based public health surveillance. An active community surveillance at the time of emergence of pandemic influenza provided us with an opportunity to compare the clinical features among patients infected with influenza A (H1N1) pdm09 virus and those with influenza B virus co-circulating in an active community-based weekly surveillance in three villages in Faridabad, Haryana, north India.
Methods: Active surveillance for febrile acute respiratory infection (FARI) was carried out in a rural community (n=16,182) in the context of an inactivated trivalent influenza vaccine trial (among children <11 yr). Individuals with FARI were assessed clinically by nurses and respiratory samples collected and tested for influenza viruses by real time RT-PCR from November 2009 to August 2010. Clinical symptoms of patients with influenza A (H1N1) pdm 09 and influenza B infection were compared.
Results: Of the 4796 samples tested, 822 (17%) were positive for influenza virus. Of these, 443 (54%) were influenza A (H1N1) pdm09, 373 (45%) were influenza B and six were other subtypes/mixed infections. The mean age was lower for patients with influenza B (16.4 yr) than influenza A (H1N1) pdm09 infection (18.7 yr; P=0.04). Among children aged 5-18 yr, chills/rigours (OR 4.0; CI 2.2, 7.4), sore throat (OR 6.8; CI 2.3, 27.3) and headache (OR2.0; CI 1.3, 3.3) were more common in influenza A (H1N1) pdm09 infection than in influenza B cases. Chills/rigours (OR 2.4; CI 1.4, 4.0) and headache (OR 1.7; CI 1.0, 2.7) were associated with influenza A (H1N1) pdm09 infection in those >18 yr. No significant differences were seen in children <5 yr.
Conclusion: Our findings show that the differences in the clinical presentation of influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 and influenza B infections are not likely to be of clinical or public health significance. |
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