PREVALÊNCIA DO VÍRUS INFLUENZA EM PACIENTES SERGIPANOS NOTIFICADOS COM SÍNDROME GRIPAL DURANTE A PANDEMIA DE COVID-19

Abstract

Introduction: Flu syndrome is one of the most common respiratory infections among humans and the cause of countless deaths annually. The WHO estimates that influenza infections result in between 3 and 5 million serious cases and between 250,000 and 500,000 deaths annually. Methods: This is a descriptive, quantitative, cross-sectional and retrospective epidemiological research. The results protocols of patients reported with Flu Syndrome were analyzed, between the months of March and May 2020 (first quarter of the COVID-19 pandemic) in the state of Sergipe. Results: During the study period, 517 patients were screened for FluA/H1N1, FluA/H3N2 and FluB, with 33.07% (171/517) having a result detected for respiratory viruses and 64.9% (111/171) were detected for Influenza A and 35.1% (60/171) detected for Influenza B. The cases detected for Influenza A were subtyped and 50.3% (86/171) infected with Influenza A H1N1 pdm09, 1.7% ( 3 /171) with FluA H3N2 and 12.9% (22/171) with non-subtyped FluA. Regarding the age group, we observed that there was a higher frequency of cases in patients aged between 30 and 59 years, with 52.04% (89/171) of cases. Next, young people between 14 and 29 years old appear in evidence, with 39.8% (68/171) of cases.  Conclusion: Knowledge of which types and subtypes of influenza are circulating, as well as their epidemiological profile, allows for better development of immunizers, which are distributed annually to the population.