An in-depth analysis of recent influenza surveillance data in WHO’s South East Asia Region (SEAR) was taken up with a focus on the influenza circulation trends in SEAR and a pilot model for spill over at the human-avian interface
As part of the project, to have a better understanding of influenza circulation in a larger context and to describe the characteristics of influenza detected in the Member States (MS) in WHO’s SEAR, an analysis of the surveillance data for the WHO’s SEAR Region for the period from 2015 till 2021 was undertaken. The surveillance data sets were obtained from the FluNet and FluID, the global web-based epidemiological and virological surveillance data collection and reporting platform of the WHO Global Influenza Surveillance and Response System (GISRS).
A second analysis on “Epidemiology and characterization of influenza viruses in patients with Severe Respiratory Acute Infections along Central Asian wild bird Flyways in India, 2019–2020” was also documented. This study was undertaken in partnership with the National Institute of Virology (NIV) Pune, India (Indian Council of Medical Research -ICMR) which is the designated National Influenza Centre (NIC) of India in the GISRS network. The objective of the study was to identify circulating influenza virus strains along key wild bird flyways in India and conducting antigenic and viral characterization of influenza viruses.
This pilot study of influenza surveillance was conducted in five surveillance centres close to key wild bird flyways in India during a period of one year from August 2019 to August 2020. These included three surveillance centres in North-East India, one surveillance centre in South (Kerala) and one surveillance centre in the West (Maharashtra). Study participants recruited were patients with Severe Acute Respiratory Infections (SARI). While the study provided insights into circulating influenza types in the five regions, it is being further investigated for its scale-up and utility of co-locating human and avian influenza sentinel surveillance sites along the central Asian wild bird flyways for early detection of influenza virus strains with the outbreak potential in humans.
The above analysis is a part of a regular analysis and influenza surveillance innovations undertaken by the Infectious Hazard Management (IHM) unit of the Health Emergencies (WHE) department at SEARO for better understanding of influenza trends in the SEAR and to help the research and policy so as enable regional and national prioritization of influenza prevention and control interventions.