1887
  1. Home
  2. Eurosurveillance
  3. Volume 28, Issue 28, 13/Jul/2023
  4. Article
Outbreaks Open Access
Like 0
Download

Abstract

After the near absence of influenza and other respiratory viruses during the first 2 years of the COVID-19 pandemic, an increased activity of mainly influenza A(H3N2) was detected at the beginning of August 2022 in Greece on three islands. Of 33 cases with respiratory symptoms testing negative for SARS-CoV-2 with rapid antigen tests, 24 were positive for influenza: 20 as A(H3N2) subtype and four as A(H1N1)pdm09 subtype. Phylogenetic analysis of selected samples from both subtypes was performed and they fell into clusters within subclades that included the 2022/23 vaccine strains. Our data suggest that influenza can be transmitted even in the presence of another highly infectious pathogen, such as SARS-CoV-2, with a similar transmission mode. We highlight the need for implementing changes in the current influenza surveillance and suggest a move from seasonal to continuous surveillance, especially in areas with a high number of tourists. Year-round surveillance would allow for a timelier start of vaccination campaigns and antiviral drugs procurement processes.

© Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2023.28.28.2200754
2023-07-13
2024-11-21
http://instance.metastore.ingenta.com/content/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2023.28.28.2200754
Loading
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

/deliver/fulltext/eurosurveillance/28/28/eurosurv-28-28-4.html?itemId=/content/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2023.28.28.2200754&mimeType=html&fmt=ahah

References

  1. Paules C, Subbarao K. Influenza. Lancet. 2017;390(10095):697-708.  https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(17)30129-0  PMID: 28302313 
  2. Troeger CE, Blacker BF, Khalil IA, Zimsen SRM, Albertson SB, Abate D, et al. Mortality, morbidity, and hospitalisations due to influenza lower respiratory tract infections, 2017: an analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017. Lancet Respir Med. 2019;7(1):69-89.  https://doi.org/10.1016/S2213-2600(18)30496-X  PMID: 30553848 
  3. World Health Organization (WHO). Influenza (seasonal). Geneva: WHO. [Accessed: 21 Mar 2023]. Available from: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/influenza-(seasonal)
  4. Bosaeed M, Kumar D. Seasonal influenza vaccine in immunocompromised persons. Hum Vaccin Immunother. 2018;14(6):1311-22.  https://doi.org/10.1080/21645515.2018.1445446  PMID: 29485353 
  5. Yeoh DK, Foley DA, Minney-Smith CA, Martin AC, Mace AO, Sikazwe CT, et al. Impact of coronavirus disease 2019 public health measures on detections of influenza and respiratory syncytial virus in children during the 2020 Australian winter. Clin Infect Dis. 2021;72(12):2199-2202.  https://doi.org/10.1093/cid/ciaa1475  PMID: 32986804 
  6. Kossyvakis A, Pogka V, Melidou A, Moutousi A, Gioula G, Kalliaropoulos A, et al. Challenges in antigenic characterization of circulating influenza A(H3N2) viruses during the 2011-2012 influenza season: an ongoing problem? J Clin Microbiol. 2015;53(5):1493-9.  https://doi.org/10.1128/JCM.03236-14  PMID: 25694524 
  7. Elbe S, Buckland-Merrett G. Data, disease and diplomacy: GISAID’s innovative contribution to global health. Glob Chall. 2017;1(1):33-46.  https://doi.org/10.1002/gch2.1018  PMID: 31565258 
  8. European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe (WHO/Europe). Flu News Europe - Joint ECDC-WHO/Europe weekly influenza update, week 35/2022. Stockholm and Copenhagen: ECDC and WHO/Europe. [Accessed: 20 Sep 2022]. Available from: https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/seasonal-influenza/surveillance-and-disease-data/flu-news-europe
  9. United Kingdom Health Security Agency (UKHSA). Weekly national Influenza and COVID-19 surveillance report - Week 27 report (up to week 26 data). London: UKHSA. [Accessed: 20 Sep 2022]. Available from: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1088929/Weekly_Flu_and_COVID-19_report_w27.pdf
  10. Centers for Disease control and Prevention (CDC). Weekly U.S. Influenza Surveillance Report. Atlanta: CDC. [Accessed: 20 Sep 2022]. Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/flu/weekly/index.htm
  11. Chinese National Influenza Center. Influenza Surveillance Weekly Report July 18 to 24, 2022 (Week 29). Beijing: China Centers for Disease Control. [Accessed: 28 Aug 2022]. Available from: https://ivdc.chinacdc.cn/cnic/en/Surveillance/WeeklyReport/202207/P020220729591349044087.pdf
  12. Peeling RW, Heymann DL, Teo YY, Garcia PJ. Diagnostics for COVID-19: moving from pandemic response to control. Lancet. 2022;399(10326):757-68.  https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(21)02346-1  PMID: 34942102 
  13. Zhou Y, Zhang L, Xie YH, Wu J. Advancements in detection of SARS-CoV-2 infection for confronting COVID-19 pandemics. Lab Invest. 2022;102(1):4-13.  https://doi.org/10.1038/s41374-021-00663-w  PMID: 34497366 
  14. Cevik M, Rasmussen AL, Bogoch II, Kindrachuk J. Acute hepatitis of unknown origin in children. BMJ. 2022;377:o1197.  https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.o1197  PMID: 35580879 
  15. Tobías A, García-Alamino JM, Fonseca I Casas P, Tormos R. The COVID-19 pandemic management strategies and the acute severe hepatitis outbreak of unknown origin in children. Clin Infect Pract. 2022;15:100157.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clinpr.2022.100157  PMID: 35818531 
  16. Tang JW, Bialasiewicz S, Dwyer DE, Dilcher M, Tellier R, Taylor J, et al. Where have all the viruses gone? Disappearance of seasonal respiratory viruses during the COVID-19 pandemic. J Med Virol. 2021;93(7):4099-101.  https://doi.org/10.1002/jmv.26964  PMID: 33760278 
  17. Gomez GB, Mahé C, Chaves SS. Uncertain effects of the pandemic on respiratory viruses. Science. 2021;372(6546):1043-4.  https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abh3986  PMID: 34083477 
  18. Li T, Asakawa T, Liu H, Chu C, Lu H. The role of influenza in the era of COVID-19: Can we forget it? Biosci Trends. 2022;16(5):374-6.  https://doi.org/10.5582/bst.2022.01297  PMID: 35850992 
  19. Binns E, Koenraads M, Hristeva L, Flamant A, Baier-Grabner S, Loi M, et al. Influenza and respiratory syncytial virus during the COVID-19 pandemic: Time for a new paradigm? Pediatr Pulmonol. 2022;57(1):38-42.  https://doi.org/10.1002/ppul.25719  PMID: 34644459 
  20. European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). Surveillance atlas of infectious diseases. Stockholm: ECDC. [Accessed: 20 Sep 2022]. Available from: https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/surveillance-atlas-infectious-diseases
  21. Lansbury L, Lim B, Baskaran V, Lim WS. Co-infections in people with COVID-19: a systematic review and meta-analysis. J Infect. 2020;81(2):266-75.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jinf.2020.05.046  PMID: 32473235 
  22. Swets MC, Russell CD, Harrison EM, Docherty AB, Lone N, Girvan M, et al. SARS-CoV-2 co-infection with influenza viruses, respiratory syncytial virus, or adenoviruses. Lancet. 2022;399(10334):1463-4.  https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(22)00383-X  PMID: 35344735 
  23. Trent MJ, Moa A, MacIntyre CR. "I’ll be back": Australia’s experience of flu in 2022. BMJ. 2022;379:o2998.  https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.o2998  PMID: 36517068 
Influenza transmission during COVID-19 measures downscaling in Greece, August 2022: evidence for the need of continuous integrated surveillance of respiratory viruses
<p class="citation"> <span>Citation style for this article:</span> <span class="meta-value authors"> <a href="/search?value1=Kassiani+Mellou&option1=author&noRedirect=true" class="nonDisambigAuthorLink">Mellou Kassiani</a>, <a href="/search?value1=Kyriaki+Tryfinopoulou&option1=author&noRedirect=true" class="nonDisambigAuthorLink">Tryfinopoulou Kyriaki</a>, <a href="/search?value1=Mary+Emmanouil&option1=author&noRedirect=true" class="nonDisambigAuthorLink">Emmanouil Mary</a>, <a href="/search?value1=Kassiani+Gkolfinopoulou&option1=author&noRedirect=true" class="nonDisambigAuthorLink">Gkolfinopoulou Kassiani</a>, <a href="/search?value1=Spyros+Sapounas&option1=author&noRedirect=true" class="nonDisambigAuthorLink">Sapounas Spyros</a>, <a href="/search?value1=Maria+Evangelidou&option1=author&noRedirect=true" class="nonDisambigAuthorLink">Evangelidou Maria</a>, <a href="/search?value1=Panagiota+Moulopoulou&option1=author&noRedirect=true" class="nonDisambigAuthorLink">Moulopoulou Panagiota</a>, <a href="/search?value1=Eleftherios+Miaoulis&option1=author&noRedirect=true" class="nonDisambigAuthorLink">Miaoulis Eleftherios</a>, <a href="/search?value1=Emmanouil+Angelakis&option1=author&noRedirect=true" class="nonDisambigAuthorLink">Angelakis Emmanouil</a>, <a href="/search?value1=George+Sourvinos&option1=author&noRedirect=true" class="nonDisambigAuthorLink">Sourvinos George</a>, <a href="/search?value1=Theoklis+Zaoutis&option1=author&noRedirect=true" class="nonDisambigAuthorLink">Zaoutis Theoklis</a>, <a href="/search?value1=Dimitrios+Paraskevis&option1=author&noRedirect=true" class="nonDisambigAuthorLink">Paraskevis Dimitrios</a></span>. Influenza transmission during COVID-19 measures downscaling in Greece, August 2022: evidence for the need of continuous integrated surveillance of respiratory viruses. <a href="/content/ecdc">Euro Surveill.</a> 2023;28(28):pii=2200754. <a href="https://doi.org/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2023.28.28.2200754" title="doi link" target="_blank">https://doi.org/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2023.28.28.2200754</a> <span class="ES_Article_citation"> <span class="generated">Received</span>: 21 Sept 2022;&nbsp;&nbsp; <span class="generated">Accepted</span>: 05 Apr 2023 </span> </p>
/content/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2023.28.28.2200754
/content/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2023.28.28.2200754
Loading

Data & Media loading...

Supplementary data

Submit comment
Close
Comment moderation successfully completed
This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was a Success
Invalid data
An Error Occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error