Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2006 Jan;12(1):103-9.
doi: 10.3201/eid1201.050308.

Estimating influenza hospitalizations among children

Carlos G Grijalva  1 , Allen S Craig, William D Dupont, Carolyn B Bridges, Stephanie J Schrag, Marika K Iwane, William Schaffner, Kathryn M Edwards, Marie R Griffin
Affiliations

Estimating influenza hospitalizations among children

Carlos G Grijalva et al. Emerg Infect Dis. 2006 Jan.

Abstract

Although influenza causes more hospitalizations and deaths among American children than any other vaccine-preventable disease, deriving accurate population-based estimates of disease impact is challenging. Using 2 independent surveillance systems, we performed a capture-recapture analysis to estimate influenza-associated hospitalizations in children in Davidson County, Tennessee, during the 2003-2004 influenza season. The New Vaccine Surveillance Network (NVSN) enrolled children hospitalized with respiratory symptoms or fever and tested them for influenza. The Tennessee Emerging Infections Program (EIP) identified inpatients with positive influenza diagnostic test results through review of laboratory and infection control logs. The hospitalization rate estimated from the capture-recapture analysis in children <5 years of age was 2.4 per 1,000 (95% confidence interval 1.8-3.8). When NVSN estimates were compared with capture-recapture estimates, NVSN found 84% of community-acquired cases, EIP found 64% of cases in which an influenza rapid test was performed, and the overall sensitivity of NVSN and EIP for influenza hospitalizations was 73% and 38%, respectively.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Capture-recapture estimation using data from 2 independent sources. The first surveillance system (New Vaccine Surveillance Network [NVSN]) captured n1 cases. The second system (Emerging Infections Program [EIP]) captured n2 cases, including m2 cases already captured by NVSN (matched cases). The Peterson estimator of N (total cases) is formula image= n1 × n2/m2. The Peterson estimate implies that the estimated number of cases missed by both systems (z) = (b × c)/(a); where b is the number of enrolled cases by the EIP only, c is the number of enrolled cases by the NVSN only, and a is the number of matched cases (m2) (–25).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Influenza hospitalization rates in children <5 years of age by capture-recapture estimates and surveillance systems, Davidson County, Tennessee, 2003–2004 influenza season. NVSN, New Vaccine Surveillance Network; EIP, Emerging Infections Program.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Aymard M, Valette M, Luciani J; The Sentinel Physicians from the Grippe et Infections Respiratoires Aigues Pediatriques Network. Burden of influenza in children: preliminary data from a pilot survey network on community diseases. Pediatr Infect Dis J. 2003;22(Suppl):S211–4. 10.1097/01.inf.0000092189.42748.cc - DOI - PubMed
    1. Neuzil KM, Zhu Y, Griffin MR, Edwards KM, Thompson JM, Tollefson SJ, et al. Burden of interpandemic influenza in children younger than 5 years: a 25-year prospective study. J Infect Dis. 2002;185:147–52. 10.1086/338363 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Cox NJ, Subbarao K. Global epidemiology of influenza: past and present. Annu Rev Med. 2000;51:407–21. 10.1146/annurev.med.51.1.407 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Hilleman MR. Realities and enigmas of human viral influenza: pathogenesis, epidemiology and control. Vaccine. 2002;20:3068–87. 10.1016/S0264-410X(02)00254-2 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Lavanchy D. The importance of global surveillance of influenza. Vaccine. 1999;17(Suppl 1):S24–5. 10.1016/S0264-410X(99)00101-2 - DOI - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources