European all-cause excess and influenza-attributable mortality in the 2017/18 season: should the burden of influenza B be reconsidered?
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- European all-cause excess and influenza-attributable mortality in the 2017/18 season: should the burden of influenza B be reconsidered?
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Objectives: Weekly monitoring of European all-cause excess mortality, the EuroMOMO network, observed high excess mortality during the influenza B/Yamagata dominated 2017/18 winter season, especially among elderly. We describe all-cause excess and influenza-attributable mortality during the season 2017/18 in Europe. Methods: Based on weekly reporting of mortality from 24 European countries or sub-national regions, representing 60% of the European population excluding the Russian and Turkish parts of Europe, we estimated age stratified all-cause excess morality using the EuroMOMO model. In addition, age stratified all-cause influenza-attributable mortality was estimated using the FluMOMO algorithm, incorporating influenza activity based on clinical and virological surveillance data, and adjusting for extreme temperatures. Results: Excess mortality was mainly attributable to influenza activity from December 2017 to April 2018, but also due to exceptionally low temperatures in February-March 2018. The pattern and extent of mortality excess was similar to the previous A(H3N2) dominated seasons, 2014/15 and 2016/17. The 2017/18 overall all-cause influenza-attributable mortality was estimated to be 25.4 (95%CI 25.0-25.8) per 100,000 population; 118.2 (116.4-119.9) for persons aged 65. Extending to the European population this translates into over-all 152,000 deaths. Conclusions: The high mortality among elderly was unexpected in an influenza B dominated season, which commonly are considered to cause mild illness, mainly among children. Even though A(H3N2) also circulated in the 2017/18 season and may have contributed to the excess mortality among the elderly, the common perception of influenza B only having a modest impact on excess mortality in the older population may need to be reconsidered.
Original language | English |
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Journal | Clinical Microbiology and Infection |
Volume | 25 |
Issue number | 10 |
Pages (from-to) | 1266-1276 |
Number of pages | 11 |
ISSN | 1198-743X |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2019 |
- B/Yamagata, EuroMOMO, FluMOMO, Influenza, Mortality
Research areas
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