Current Trends Influenza Activity -- Northern
Hemisphere, 1984
Trinidad: Outbreaks of influenza-like illness have occurred in
Trinidad since early September. Persons of all ages have been
affected, many of whom experienced gastrointestinal symptoms along
with fever, cough, coryza, and myalgias. Twenty influenza type B
viruses have been recovered from throat swabs collected in
September
and October from symptomatic children and adults, including one
child
hospitalized with neurologic symptoms consistent with encephalitis;
no
type A viruses were recovered. Antigenic analysis of the 20
isolates
is currently in progress.
Japan: Influenza-like illness has occurred in northern Japan
since mid-October. Influenza type B viruses were recovered from
seven
children who became ill sporadicallly and from two others who
became
ill during an outbreak that affected 105 (28%) of 380 children in
one
school.
Great Britain: Influenza viruses were isolated from sporadic
cases occurring in August and September. In Newcastle, type
A(H1N1)
virus was obtained from an infant with leukemia in remission who
became ill August 15. In Edinburgh, type B virus was obtained from
a
child who developed influenza in September after being hospitalized
for several weeks.
United States: Influenza type B virus was isolated from
specimens
obtained from a 30-year-old woman in Houston, Texas, on October 24.
The woman became ill with influenza on October 22 while returning
from
a trip that included stops in Hong Kong, Singapore, and Thailand.
Influenza A viruses recovered from two patients in Nevada (1)
were
recently submitted to CDC for reference analysis. Both viruses
were
closely related to A/Philippines/2/82(H3N2), a strain included in
the
current vaccine.
Reported by P Diggory, MD, B Hull, Caribbean Epidemiology Centre,
Trinidad; M Pereira, PhD, Central Public Health Laboratory, London,
England; H Six, PhD, WP Glezen, MD, School of Medicine, Baylor
University, Houston, CE Alexander, MD, State Epidemiologist, Texas
Dept of Health; Virus Diseases Unit, World Health Organization,
Geneva; Influenza Br, Div of Viral Diseases, Center for Infectious
Diseases, CDC.
Editorial Note
Editorial Note: These early reports of influenza in the Northern
Hemisphere are consistent with previous reports from the Southern
Hemisphere and the tropics (2) and indicate that influenza A(H3N2),
A(H1N1), and influenza B viruses continue to circulate in the
world.
Viruses related to the prevalent strains of influenza are included
in
this year's influenza vaccine, which should continue to be provided
to
persons who are at high risk or in priority groups (3).
CDC. Influenza--Southern Hemisphere, Asia, the Tropics, 1984.
MMWR 1984;33:515-6.
ACIP. Prevention and control of influenza. MMWR
1984;33:253-60,
265-6.
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