Increased urbanization reduced the effectiveness of school closures on seasonal influenza epidemics in China.

ABSTRACT:

Background

School closure is a common mitigation strategy during severe influenza epidemics and pandemics. However, the effectiveness of this strategy remains controversial. In this study, we aimed to explore the effectiveness of school closure on seasonal influenza epidemics in provincial-level administrative divisions (PLADs) with varying urbanization rates in China.

Methods

This study analyzed influenza surveillance data between 2010 and 2019 provided by the Chinese National Influenza Center. Taking into consideration the climate, this study included a region with 3 adjacent PLADs in Northern China and another region with 4 adjacent PLADs in Southern China. The effect of school closure on influenza transmission was evaluated by the reduction of the effective reproductive

SUBMITTER: Lei H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8532386 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature