Observational cohort study of patients with influenza-like illness during the period 2010 - 2013

Abstract

Since the 2009 pandemic Influenza, vaccination campaigns were conducted, and medical visits and medication use increased. The data collected during recent flu seasons allowed us to describe Influenza type and subtype incidence, and to compare the incidence and frequency of vaccination. A prospective, observational cohort study was conducted of the patient population attended in the J. M. Ramos Mejia Hospital from October / 2010 to September / 2013. It involved 336 patients of which 147 were positive for influenza. The incidence of influenza was of 43.7% over the symptomatic subjects during the study period. It was observed that the odds of presenting influenza infection was 3.8 times in unvaccinated patients than those who received flu vaccine. These results show a seasonal variation of influenza viral subtypes, the vaccination frequency and the medical complications.