Surveillance of Influenza and Other Airborne Transmission Viruses during the 2021/2022 Season in Hospitalized Subjects in Tuscany, Italy.

Winter in the northern hemisphere is characterized by the circulation of influenza viruses, which cause seasonal epidemics, generally from October to April. Each influenza season has its own pattern, which differs from one year to the next in terms of the first influenza case notification, the period of highest incidence, and the predominant influenza virus subtypes. After the total absence of influenza viruses in the 2020/2021 season, cases of influenza were again recorded in the 2021/2022 season, although they remained below the seasonal average. Moreover, the co-circulation of the influenza virus and the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic virus was also reported. In the context of the DRIVE study, oropharyngeal swabs were collected from 129 Tuscan adults hospitalized for severe acute respiratory infection (SARI) and analyzed by means of real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) for SARS-CoV-2 and 21 different airborne pathogens, including influenza viruses. In total, 55 subjects tested positive for COVID-19, 9 tested positive for influenza, and 3 tested positive for both SARS-CoV-2 and the A/H3N2 influenza virus. The co-circulation of different viruses in the population requires strengthened surveillance that is no longer restricted to the winter months. Indeed, constant, year-long monitoring of the trends of these viruses is needed, especially in at-risk groups and elderly people.

Epidemiological and virological surveillance of Severe Acute Respiratory Infections in the 2019/2020 season in Siena, Tuscany, Italy.

BACKGROUND: Influenza is a major public health issue. Indeed, in Italy there were 7.6 million symptomatic cases of influenza in the 2019/2020 influenza season (from October 2019 to April 2020). The aim of this study is to analyse the circulation of influenza A and B viruses in hospitalized adult and elderly patients with Severe Acute Respiratory Infections (SARI) at Le Scotte University Hospital in Siena. METHODS: Oropharyngeal swabs were taken from SARI patients, who also completed a questionnaire recording their underlying diseases and vaccination status. Total RNA was extracted from each respiratory swab by means of the QIAamp Viral RNA Mini kit, and RT-PCR was carried out. All statistical analyses were performed by means of GraphPad Prism 6 software and STATA. RESULTS: In this study we collected 68 swabs. The average age of subjects was 79.4 years (C.I.: 76.6-82.3) and 52.9% were female. The subjects had fever (89.7%), fatigue (77%), headache (47%), cough (75%), sore throat (70.5%), and breathlessness (63.2%). We found that 20% of the 68 subjects were positive (13% for A H3N2 and 7% for A H1N1). Of the 68 subjects, 25% had received a seasonal influenza vaccine (91.6% trivalent and 8.4% quadrivalent). CONCLUSIONS: Our study is important in order to determine the timing and spread of influenza viruses and track changes in circulating influenza viruses, so as to inform seasonal influenza vaccine composition. Seasonal vaccination is considered the most effective way to prevent influenza and its complications.

Surveillance for Severe Acute Respiratory Infections among Hospitalized Subjects from 2015/2016 to 2019/2020 Seasons in Tuscany, Italy.

In Italy, the influenza season lasts from October until April of the following year. Influenza A and B viruses are the two viral types that cocirculate during seasonal epidemics and are the main causes of respiratory infections. We analyzed influenza A and B viruses in samples from hospitalized patients at Le Scotte University Hospital in Siena (Central Italy). From 2015 to 2020, 182 patients with Severe Acute Respiratory Infections were enrolled. Oropharyngeal swabs were collected from patients and tested by means of reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction to identify influenza A(H3N2), A(H1N1)pdm09 and B. Epidemiological and virological surveillance remain an essential tool for monitoring circulating viruses and possible mismatches with seasonal vaccine strains, and provide information that can be used to improve the composition of influenza vaccines.