Interim report on pandemic H1N1 influenza virus infections in South Africa, April to October 2009: Epidemiology and factors associated with fatal cases

B N Archer; C Cohen; D Naidoo; J Thomas; C Makunga; L Blumberg; M Venter; G A Timothy; A Puren; J M McAnerney; A Cengimbo; B D Schoub

doi:10.2807/ese.14.42.19369-en

Surveillance and outbreak reports Open Access

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Interim report on pandemic H1N1 influenza virus infections in South Africa, April to October 2009: Epidemiology and factors associated with fatal cases
B N Archer^1,2 , C Cohen^1,3 , D Naidoo¹ , J Thomas^1,3 , C Makunga¹ , L Blumberg^1,4 , M Venter^1,5 , G A Timothy³ , A Puren^1,4 , J M McAnerney¹ , A Cengimbo¹ , B D Schoub^1,4
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Affiliations: ¹ National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), a division of the National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS), Johannesburg, South Africa ² School of Health Systems and Public Health, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa ³ School of Public Health, University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa ⁴ School of Pathology, University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa ⁵ Department of Medical Virology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa

Correspondence:
B Archer
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Citation style for this article: Archer B N, Cohen C, Naidoo D, Thomas J, Makunga C, Blumberg L, Venter M, Timothy G A, Puren A, McAnerney J M, Cengimbo A, Schoub B D. Interim report on pandemic H1N1 influenza virus infections in South Africa, April to October 2009: Epidemiology and factors associated with fatal cases. Euro Surveill. 2009;14(42):pii=19369. https://doi.org/10.2807/ese.14.42.19369-en Received: 12 Oct 2009

Abstract

We provide an interim report on pandemic H1N1 influenza activity in South Africa, with a focus on the epidemiology and factors associated with deaths. Following the importation of the virus on 14 July 2009, and the epidemic peak during the week starting 3 August, the incidence in South Africa has declined. A total of 12,331 cases and 91 deaths have been laboratory-confirmed as of 12 October 2009. Age distribution and risk groups were similar to those observed elsewhere. The median age of patients who died (33.5 years) was significantly higher than that of the non-fatal cases (15.0 years, p<0.01). The most common underlying conditions among fatal cases were infection with human immunodeficiency virus (17/32 tested) and pregnancy (25/45 women of reproductive age). Active tuberculosis coinfection was present in seven of 72 fatal cases. These findings should be taken into consideration when planning vaccination strategies for 2010.