Surveillance for Severe Acute Respiratory Infections among Hospitalized Subjects from 2015/2016 to 2019/2020 Seasons in Tuscany, Italy

• Main Authors: Ilaria Manini, Andrea Camarri, Serena Marchi, Claudia Maria Trombetta, Ilaria Vicenti, Filippo Dragoni, Giacomo Lazzeri, Giovanni Bova, Emanuele Montomoli, Pier Leopoldo Capecchi
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2021-04-01
• Series: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
• Subjects: influenza A and B viruses; severe acute respiratory infections; epidemiological and virological surveillance
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/8/3875
• ISSN: 1661-7827; 1660-4601

In Italy, the influenza season lasts from October until April of the following year. Influenza A and B viruses are the two viral types that cocirculate during seasonal epidemics and are the main causes of respiratory infections. We analyzed influenza A and B viruses in samples from hospitalized patients at Le Scotte University Hospital in Siena (Central Italy). From 2015 to 2020, 182 patients with Severe Acute Respiratory Infections were enrolled. Oropharyngeal swabs were collected from patients and tested by means of reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction to identify influenza A(H3N2), A(H1N1)pdm09 and B. Epidemiological and virological surveillance remain an essential tool for monitoring circulating viruses and possible mismatches with seasonal vaccine strains, and provide information that can be used to improve the composition of influenza vaccines.