Epidemiology characteristics of Influenza-like illness in Southern Region 2018-2023

Abstract

The influenza-like illness (ILI) in the Southern region from 2018 to 2023, funded by the national budget, was set up in Xuan Loc district, Dong Nai province, and Cai Be district, Tien Giang province to monitor and early detection of influenza virus mutations. The surveillance system was interrupted in 2021 and only implemented in the last months of 2020, 2022, and 2023 due to the need for planning and resource allocation. Surveillance system recorded 2,355 ILI patients with a positive rate of 18.6%, peaking in October. Three subtypes A/H1N1pdm09, A/H3 and B were co-circulated around the yaer. The highest positive rate was found in the 0-9 age group (26.3%), while the lowest was among the elderly (≥60 years) at 6.4%. Infection rates between males (49.3%) and females (50.7%) were similar. Students were the most affected group (46.4%), with a positivity rate of 48.7% relevant to the age distribution. Maintaining the sentinel ILI surveillance system is essential for the timely detection of influenza virus variants, contributing to proactive measures to prevent influenza in the community.