Estimating the impact of the 2009 influenza A(H1N1) pandemic on mortality in the elderly in Navarre, Spain

J Castilla; J Etxeberria; E Ardanaz; Y Floristán; R López Escudero; M Guevara

doi:10.2807/ese.15.05.19481-en

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Estimating the impact of the 2009 influenza A(H1N1) pandemic on mortality in the elderly in Navarre, Spain
J Castilla¹ , J Etxeberria¹ , E Ardanaz¹ , Y Floristán¹ , R López Escudero¹ , M Guevara¹
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Affiliations: ¹ Public Health Institute of Navarre and Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP, Biomedical Research Network of Epidemiology and Public Health), Pamplona, Spain

Correspondence:
J Castilla
jcastilc navarra.es
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Citation style for this article: Castilla J, Etxeberria J , Ardanaz E, Floristán Y, López Escudero R, Guevara M. Estimating the impact of the 2009 influenza A(H1N1) pandemic on mortality in the elderly in Navarre, Spain. Euro Surveill. 2010;15(5):pii=19481. https://doi.org/10.2807/ese.15.05.19481-en Received: 28 Jan 2010

Abstract

We analysed mortality among people aged 65 years or older in Navarre, Spain in 2009 and compared it with the mean for the same period of time in the previous three years. In the pandemic weeks 24 to 52 2009 we observed 4.9% more deaths than expected (p=0.0268). Excess mortality occurred during the circulation of seasonal influenza (8.0%, p=0.0367) and the first wave of pandemic influenza (9.9%, p=0.0079). In the second wave of pandemic influenza there was a non-significant excess of deaths (5.2%, p=0.1166). Surveillance of laboratory-confirmed severe influenza cases detected only one death in this age group.