This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
Pandemic flu caused less illness, fewer hospitalizations than predicted
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
The pandemic strain of influenza, H1N1v2009, which was feared to cause severe respiratory distress and illness, did not have the severe effect as predicted on the pediatric population, according to study results.
Carmen Laurent, MD, of the department of pediatrics at the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Caen in France, and colleagues evaluated children aged younger than 2 years who were admitted to the pediatric ED with respiratory symptoms between November 2009 and April 2010 to determine the effect of the virus on this age group.
Laurent and colleagues reported that during the study period, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) was the most common infection (34.2%), followed by rhinoviruses (23.9%), coronaviruses (9.3%) and H1N1v2009 (7.7%). RSV was responsible for 71.4% of ICU admissions and had the greatest level of respiratory severity, whereas H1N1v2009 had a low risk of severe respiratory disease. The virus resulted in a lower incidence of infection and less severe disease than expected.
“Despite the modest impact of H1N1v2009 observed in this study, further surveillance is needed to detect virological factors that may increase its severity,” the researchers said.
Disclosure: Dr. Laurent reports no relevant financial disclosures.
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts