Surveillance of influenza in Finland during the 2009 pandemic, 10 May 2009 to 8 March 2010

The first infection caused by pandemic influenza A(H1N1)2009 virus was confirmed in Finland on 10 May 2009. The spread of the disease and its impact were monitored using several surveillance systems, such as the national infectious disease register, notifications of clusters of influenza, influenza-like or influenza-related illnesses, as well as virological, hospital, case-based and mortality surveillance. The epidemic started in early October in the north and then spread to the south about two weeks later. Based on the data from laboratory-confirmed cases, the morbidity was highest in children. The daily number of patients hospitalised with influenza A(H1N1)2009 reached a maximum of over 400 in late November. Of the 1,580 hospitalised patients (median age 32 years), 672 (43%) had at least one chronic underlying illness, 35 (2%) were pregnant, 132 (8%) were treated in intensive care units and 74 (5%) required mechanical ventilation. The median age of patients admitted to intensive care units was 48 years and 78 ( 59%) of them had at least one chronic underlying disease, none were pregnant. Altogether 44 deaths related to influenza A(H1N1)2009 were recorded (median age 56 years): 40 belonged to high-risk groups on the basis of underlying chronic diseases. Combining data from different surveillance systems gave timely information about the spread of the pandemic and contributed to identifying risk groups.