Burden of Influenza and Influenza-associated XXXX in the First Year of Life in a Prospective Cohort Study in Managua, Nicaragua.

@entity1 @entity683 @entity778 @entity55
BACKGROUND: Influenza is a major public health problem worldwide; however, relatively little is known about @entity683 in tropical regions, especially for @entity1 . Additional information is required to inform public health policy making, in particular vaccination guidelines. METHODS: Between September 2011 and July 2013, we enrolled newborns into the Nicaraguan Birth Cohort Study. @entity1 were provided primary medical care and actively followed for reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction-confirmed @entity778 when presenting with @entity683 or undifferentiated fever. This report presents data pertaining to the first year of life. RESULTS: Of the 518 @entity1 enrolled in the study, 441 participated throughout their first year of life, 71 were withdrawn, and 6 died. Overall, 13% of the @entity1 experienced at least 1 laboratory-confirmed @entity778 . The overall incidence of @entity683 was 15.5 cases per 100 @entity1 -years [95% confidence interval (CI): 12.2-19.5]. @entity1 aged 6-11 months experienced significantly higher rates of laboratory-confirmed @entity683 than @entity1 aged 0-5 months (incidence rate ratio: 2.1; 95% CI: 1.3-3.4). The overall incidence of @entity55 was 52.6 cases per 100 @entity1 -years (95% CI: 46.3-59.6). Three percent of the @entity55 cases were @entity683 associated, and the incidence of @entity683 -associated @entity55 and hospitalization was 1.7 (95% CI: 0.9-3.5) and 0.22 (95% CI: 0.03-1.55) cases per 100 @entity1 -years, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: We found a significant burden of @entity683 and @entity683 -associated severe respiratory outcomes in @entity1 . Our results support the need to explore the potential value of vaccinating pregnant @entity1 and @entity1 aged >6 months, as recommended by the World Health Organization in 2012.
