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conferenceseries
.com
Volume 5, Issue 3 (Suppl)
J Infect Dis Ther, an open access journal
ISSN:2332-0877
Infectious Diseases 2017
August 21-23, 2017
3
rd
Annual Congress on
Infectious Diseases
August 21-23, 2017 San Francisco, USA
Notes:
National surveillance for influenza and influenza like illness in Qatar, January–December 2015: An
analysis of sentinel surveillance systems
Hamad Eid Al Romaihi
1
, Nandakumar Ganesan
1
, Shazia Nadeem
1
, Elmoubasher Farag
1
, Soha Shawqi Albayat
1
, Lylu Kurichikara Mahadoon
1
and
Said
Hamed Alhahiry
2
1
Ministry of Public Health, Qatar
2
Hamad Medical Corporation, Qatar
I
nfluenza contributes globally to the burden of infectious diseases by an annual increase in mortality rates of 40 to 50 million
cases across the world. The risk groups are predominantly young children and the elderly. The Ministry of Public Health
(MoPH) and theHamadMedicalCorporation (HMC) collaborated tocharacterize viral etiologic agents associatedwith influenza
like illness (ILI) and to explore epidemiological distribution of influenza virus in Qatar. A retrospective epidemiological study
based on national influenza surveillance data was obtained from the system of sentinel sites and National Influenza Center
(NIC). For laboratory confirmed cases, nasopharyngeal and/or oropharyngeal swabs were taken and samples were transferred
for viral isolation by real time-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) in the time period from January 1st to 31st December
2015. Of a total of 12,648 specimens tested, 3,250 (25.7%) were positive. Laboratory-confirmed cases were reported to MOPH
by all sentinel sites in the country. Of the positive specimens, 2,820 (86.8%) were influenza A and 430 (13.2%) were influenza
B virus. Seasonal influenza A viruses, 2,219 (78.7%) were subtyped as influenza A (H1N1) pdm09. Influenza A (H1N1) pdm09
viruses were the predominant strains reported from all health regions. Throughout this season, positivity for influenza A and B
virus infection reported in the age group of 18-49 years was higher compared to all other age groups. Among those who tested
positive, the proportion of influenza A was higher among females (66.8%) than males (33.2%). Qatari (52.7%) patients were
more affected than Non-Qatari (47.3%) patients. On the contrary, laboratory confirmed influenza B virus infection was higher
among Non-Qataris (74.0%) than Qataris (26.0%) and this strain partially circulated among both male and female patients.
Our surveillance data confirms the predominance of viral influenza in Qatar and all age groups were affected. We recommend
that national level immunization campaigns should be conducted to reduce the burden of influenza. National rates of influenza
should be monitored at regular intervals and intervention programs should be evaluated for their cost effectiveness.
Biography
Hamad Eid Al Romaihi received his Medical degree from the Arabian Gulf University, Kingdom of Bahrain in 2004. He underwent Arab Board Community Medicine
training in 2009 and received his Fellowship in Public Health in 2011 in UK. From September 2016 to present, he is taking up Diploma in Travel Medicine at the
Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons in Glasgow, Scotland, UK. He joined the Ministry of Public Health in November 2012 as Head of Surveillance and
Outbreak Control. His current post is Manager of Health Protection and Communicable Disease Control. He is also a Public Health Medicine Consultant with special
interests in emerging infections, travel health and immunization.
halromaihi@moph.gov.qaHamad Eid Al Romaihi et al., J Infect Dis Ther 2017, 5:3 (Suppl)
DOI: 10.4172/2332-0877-C1-027