Three Summertime Outbreaks of Influenza Type A

In the Northern Hemisphere, sporadic cases of influenza occur during the summer, yet summertime outbreaks are rare. From 12 August through 2 September 1993, three influenza outbreaks in Louisiana were investigated using medical-record review, interviews, viral cultures, serology, and active surveill...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of infectious diseases 1995-07, Vol.172 (1), p.246-249
Main Authors: Kohn, Melvin A., Farley, Thomas A., Sundin, Daniel, Tapia, Ruben, McFarland, Louise M., Arden, Nancy H.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aged
Amantadine - therapeutic use
Biological and medical sciences
Concise Communications
Cough
Disease Outbreaks
Diseases
Dredging
Epidemiology
Fever
Homes for the Aged - statistics & numerical data
Human viral diseases
Humans
Infectious diseases
Influenza A virus
Influenza, Human - epidemiology
Influenza, Human - mortality
Influenza, Human - prevention & control
Louisiana - epidemiology
Medical Records
Medical sciences
Nursing homes
Nursing Homes - statistics & numerical data
Population Surveillance
Public health
Seasons
Vaccination
Viral diseases
Viral diseases of the respiratory system and ent viral diseases
Viruses
Citations: Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:In the Northern Hemisphere, sporadic cases of influenza occur during the summer, yet summertime outbreaks are rare. From 12 August through 2 September 1993, three influenza outbreaks in Louisiana were investigated using medical-record review, interviews, viral cultures, serology, and active surveillance for influenza-like illness in Louisiana. Attack rates in the outbreaks were 61% (69/114), 42% (24/57), and 45% (23/51). Viruses isolated were most closely related to influenza A/Beijing/32/92 (H3N2). The identification of influenza A as the cause of the first two outbreaks led to the recommendation for amantadine use in the third outbreak. Active surveillance did not detect any other outbreaks of influenza-like illness during August or September 1993. Out-of-season influenza A outbreaks can therefore occur when little influenza-like illness is present in a community. Evaluation of outbreaks of acute, febrile respiratory illness outside the influenza season should include this possibility, since rapid detection can lead to the timely use of amantadine or rimantadine.
ISSN:0022-1899
1537-6613
DOI:10.1093/infdis/172.1.246