Seasonality of influenza and its association with meteorological parameters in two cities of Pakistan: A time series analysis.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Influenza is known to have a specific pattern of seasonality the reasons for which are yet to be fully ascertained. Temperate zones show influenza epidemic during the winter months. The tropical and subtropical regions show more diverse influenza outbreak patterns. This study explores the seasonality of influenza activity and predicts influenza peak based on historical surveillance time series data in Islamabad and Multan, Pakistan.

Methods

This is a descriptive study of routinely collected monthly influenza sentinel surveillance data and meteorological data from 2012-16 in two sentinel sites of Pakistan: Islamabad (North) and Multan (Central).

Results

Mean number of cases of influenza and levels of precipitation were higher in Islamabad compared to Multan.

SUBMITTER: Nisar N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6641468 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature