Attributable Fraction of Influenza Virus Detection to Mild and Severe Respiratory Illnesses in HIV-Infected and HIV-Uninfected Patients, South Africa, 2012-2016

• Published in: Emerging infectious diseases Vol. 23; no. 7; pp. 1124 - 1132
• Main Authors: Tempia, Stefano, Walaza, Sibongile, Moyes, Jocelyn, Cohen, Adam L, von Mollendorf, Claire, McMorrow, Meredith L, Treurnicht, Florette K, Venter, Marietjie, Pretorius, Marthi, Hellferscee, Orienka, Wolter, Nicole, von Gottberg, Anne, Nguweneza, Athermon, McAnerney, Johanna M, Dawood, Halima, Variava, Ebrahim, Madhi, Shabir A, Cohen, Cheryl
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States U.S. National Center for Infectious Diseases 01.07.2017; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; attributable fraction; Attributable Fraction of Influenza Virus Detection to Mild and Severe Respiratory Illnesses in HIV-Infected and HIV-Uninfected Patients, South Africa, 2012–2016; Child; Child, Preschool; Coinfection - epidemiology; Comparative analysis; Control; Female; Health aspects; History, 21st Century; HIV; HIV infections; HIV Infections - epidemiology; HIV Infections - virology; HIV patients; HIV-infected patients; Humans; Infant; Infant, Newborn; Influenza; Influenza viruses; Male; Middle Aged; Orthomyxoviridae - classification; Orthomyxoviridae - genetics; Population Surveillance; Prevalence; respiratory illness; Respiratory Tract Infections - diagnosis; Respiratory Tract Infections - epidemiology; Respiratory Tract Infections - history; Respiratory Tract Infections - virology; Severity of Illness Index; South Africa - epidemiology; viruses; Young Adult; South Africa; influenza; HIV-uninfected patients; viruses; HIV; HIV/AIDS and other retroviruses; respiratory illness; South Africa; attributable fraction; HIV-infected patients
• ISSN: 1080-6040; 1080-6059
• DOI: 10.3201/eid2307.161959

The attributable fraction (AF) of influenza virus detection to illness has not been described for patients in different age groups or with different HIV infection statuses. We compared the age group-specific prevalence of influenza virus infection among patients with influenza-like illness (ILI) or severe acute or chronic respiratory illness (SARI and SCRI, respectively) with that among controls, stratified by HIV serostatus. The overall AF for influenza virus detection to illness was 92.6% for ILI, 87.4% for SARI, and 86.2% for SCRI. Among HIV-uninfected patients, the AF for all syndromes was highest among persons <1 and >65 years of age and lowest among persons 25-44 years of age; this trend was not observed among HIV-infected patients. Overall, influenza viruses when detected in patients with ILI, SARI, or SCRI are likely attributable to illness. This finding is particularly likely among children and the elderly irrespective of HIV serostatus and among HIV-infected persons irrespective of age.