Sorveglianza epidemiologica e virologica dell’infezione da virus influenzali nella Provincia di Lecce: stagione 2000/2001.

Influenza is an important public problem in relation to the considerable epidemiological impact in terms of morbidity and mortality. Surveillance is therefore central to monitor the spread of this infection in the population of a specific area. For these reasons, virological, clinical and epidemiological surveillance were conducted during the 2000/2001 influenza season in the area of Lecce. The surveillance activities were part of a national influenza surveillance programme. A team of sentinel physicians, voluntary general practitioners and pediatricians, monitored a sample of 1% of the total population. These doctors reported weekly the number of patients with influenza-like illness (ILI) or acute respiratory illness (ARI), indicating if these patients had or had not received influenza vaccine. In parallel with the clinical and epidemiological surveillance, virological surveillance was also carried out in a group of patients meeting the ILI criteria. Samples of nasal and pharyngeal secretions were collected from these patients in order to isolate and identify any influenza viruses. The epidemiological surveillance showed that most of the patients affected by influenza were young subjects aged up to 14 years and adults aged 15-64 years. They were mostly non-vaccinated subjects. The average rate of incidence for the 2000/2001 season was 3.03/1,000 inhabitants. Virological surveillance evidenced that during the 2000/2001 influenza season all cases were associated to the A/H1N1 virus.