Report No. 4
Week ending 13 May 2011
A print friendly version of this report is available as a PDF (225 KB)The Department of Health and Ageing acknowledges the providers of the many sources of data used in this report and greatly appreciates their contribution.
Key Indicators
Influenza activity and severity in the community is monitored using the following indicators and surveillance systems:| Is the situation changing? | Indicated by trends in:
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| How severe is the disease, and is severity changing? | Indicated by trends in:
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| Is the virus changing? | Indicated by trends in:
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Summary
- Levels of influenza-like illness (ILI) in the community continue to remain low through the majority of ILI surveillance systems this reporting period.
- All jurisdictions have been reporting higher than usual numbers of laboratory confirmed influenza notifications over the summer months, however in recent weeks there has been a decline in the number of notifications in most jurisdictions.
- During this reporting period there were 225 laboratory confirmed notifications of influenza, which included 147 cases of influenza A untyped, 33 cases of pandemic (H1N1) 2009, 44 cases of influenza B and 1 case of influenza A&B. Queensland reported the highest number of notifications.
- As at 29 April 2011, there have been 3,434 confirmed cases of influenza reported to the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System (NNDSS) in 2011, compared with 810 for the same period in 2010.
- The WHO has reported that worldwide influenza activity is low and activity in the Northern Hemisphere temperate regions has returned to baseline or pre-seasonal levels.
1. Influenza activity in Australia
Influenza-Like Illness
Sentinel General Practice Surveillance
In the week ending 8 May 2011, the national ILI consultation rate to sentinel GPs was 2.9 cases per 1,000 consultations, which has declined in the past fortnight from 8.3 cases per 1,000 consultations (Figure 1).Figure 1. Weekly rate of ILI reported from GP ILI surveillance systems from 1 January 2008 to8 May 2011*
* Delays in the reporting of data may cause data to change retrospectively. As data from the VIDRL surveillance system is combined with ASPREN data for 2010, rates may not be directly comparable across 2007, 2008 and 2009.
SOURCE: ASPREN and VIDRL GP surveillance system.
Of the ASPREN ILI specimens collected in the fortnight ending 6 May 2011, 2 specimens (12.5%) were positive for influenza with both of those being positive for pandemic (H1N1) 2009. This is a slight decrease in influenza positivity from the previous fortnight’s report where 18% were positive, however due to the small number of specimens tested it is difficult to determine any general trends. One specimen was positive for rhinovirus (Table 1). Please note the results of ASPREN ILI laboratory respiratory viral tests do not currently include Western Australia.
Table 1. ASPREN ILI consultations laboratory respiratory viral tests that were positive for influenza or other respiratory virus, 1 January 2011 to 6 May 2011.
 |
(Fortnight 23 April – 6 May 2011) |
(YTD 1 Jan – 6 May 2011) |
|---|---|---|
| Total specimens tested | 16 | 178 |
| Total Influenza Positive | 2 | 27 |
| Influenza A | 2 | 24 |
| Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 | 2 | 19 |
| Seasonal A/H3N2 | 0 | 0 |
| Influenza A untyped | 0 | 5 |
| Influenza B | 0 | 3 |
| Total Positive other Resp. Viruses* | 1 | 69 |
* Other respiratory viruses include RSV, para-influenza, adenovirus and rhinovirus.
WA Emergency Departments
In the fortnight ending 8 May 2011 there were 628 respiratory viral presentations, including 33 admissions. The number of respiratory viral presentations reported in WA EDs so far in 2011 have been slightly higher than in previous years, however in the past fortnight they have dropped below the number of presentations for the same period in 2010 (Figure 2).Figure 2. Number of respiratory viral presentations to WA EDs from 1 January 2008 to 8 May 2011, by week
Source: WA ‘Virus Watch’ Report
NSW Emergency Departments
In the week ending 13 May 2011 the total count of ILI presentations to NSW EDs was 1.1 cases per 1,000 consultations, which is within the usual range seen in previous years. Pneumonia and ILI admissions to critical care units showed an increasing trend, which is slightly above the usual range seen at this time of year. In April 2011 there were 146 ILI presentations to NSW EDs (a rate of 1.0 per 1,000 presentations), which was slightly more than the 124 presentations seen in March 2011.1Flutracking
Flutracking, a national online system for collecting data on ILI in the community, reported that in the week ending 15 May 2011 fever and cough was reported by 2.4% of vaccinated participants and 3.0% of unvaccinated participants (Figure 3). Fever, cough and absence from normal duties was reported by 1.2% of vaccinated participants and 1.5% of unvaccinated participants. 1Figure 3. Rate of ILI symptoms among Flutracking participants by week, from week ending 8 May 2011 to week ending 15 May 2011.
National Health Call Centre Network
The number of ILI-related calls to the National Health Call Centre Network (NHCCN) in this reporting period continued to be low and similar to previous weeks. The percentage of total calls remained low and stable (Figure 4).Figure 4. Number of calls to the NHCCN related to ILI and percentage of total calls, Australia, 1 January 2009 to 13 May 2011
Note: national data do not include QLD and VIC Source: NHCCN data
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Laboratory Confirmed Influenza
Sentinel Laboratory Surveillance
Results from sentinel laboratory surveillance systems for this reporting period show that in NSW 1.9% (4/212) and in WA 2.4% (5/207) of the respiratory tests conducted over this period were positive for influenza (Table 2).- Table 2. Laboratory respiratory tests that tested positive for influenza, 30 April – 6 May 2011
| NSW NIC | WA NIC | NT (Reported by WA NIC) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total specimens tested | 212 | 207 | N/A |
| Total Influenza Positive | 4 | 5 | 0 |
| Positive Influenza A | 2 | 5 | 0 |
| Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| Seasonal A/H3N2 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Influenza A untyped | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Positive Influenza B | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| The most common respiratory virus detected | RSV & Rhinovrius | N/A | N/A |
Laboratory Confirmed Cases Notified to Health Departments
During this reporting period there were 225 influenza notifications reported to the NNDSS (115 in Qld, 33 in NSW and SA, 26 in Vic, 9 in TAS, 6 in WA, and 3 in the ACT). They included 147 cases of influenza A (untyped), 33 cases of pandemic (H1N1) 2009, 44 of influenza B and 1 of influenza A&B (Figure 4).There have been 3,434 confirmed cases of influenza of all types diagnosed during 2011 up to 13 May (Figure 5). Of these, 1,615 (47%) have been sub-typed as influenza A (untyped), 782 (23%) as pandemic (H1N1) 2009, 528 (15%) as type A/H3N2, and 20 (<1%) were type A&B. A further 449 (13%) have been characterised as influenza type B and 40 (1%) were untyped.
Please note, Northern Territory sub-typing results reported to the NNDSS as "Influenza A/Not Pandemic" have been counted as influenza A/H3N2 notifications.
Figure 5. Laboratory confirmed cases of influenza in Australia, 1 January 2005 to 13 May 2011
Source: NNDSS 2011
As at 13 May 2011, the number of laboratory confirmed cases of influenza in 2011 was 1,657 in Qld, 469 in NSW, 431 in Vic, 330 in the NT, 283 in SA, 205 cases in WA, 39 cases in Tas and 20 cases in the ACT (Figure 6). All jurisdictions have reported higher than usual numbers of notifications for this time of the year, especially in the Northern Territory and Queensland. The reason for this unusually high activity earlier in the year is not clear, but it does not appear to be due solely to increased testing. A breakdown of trends by state and territory, highlights that in recent weeks there has been a decline in the number of notifications in most jurisdictions, noting that some of this decline in the past fortnight may be due to lags in reporting (Figure 7).
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Figure 6. Laboratory confirmed cases of influenza in Australia, 1 January to 13 May 2011, by state, by week.
Figure 7. State breakdowns of laboratory confirmed cases of influenza, 1 January to 13 May 2011, by week
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Deaths associated with influenza and pneumonia
Nationally notified influenza associated deaths
In 2011, 4 influenza associated deaths have been notified to the NNDSS, with all cases having pandemic (H1N1) 2009.NSW
Death registration data show that for the week ending 29 April 2011, there were 1.0 pneumonia or influenza associated deaths per 100,000 deaths in NSW, which is below the seasonal threshold for this period of 1.5 per 100,000 deaths (Figure 8).NSW death registration data cross-matched with laboratory cases of influenza show that up to 8 April 2011 there was one person with laboratory confirmed influenza who died. 2
Figure 8. Rate of deaths classified as influenza and pneumonia from the NSW Registered Death Certificates, 2006 to 29 April 2011
Source: NSW ‘Influenza Monthly Epidemiology Report’
2. Virology
Typing and antigenic characterisation - WHO Collaborating Centre for Reference & Research on Influenza (WHO CC) in Melbourne
From 1 January to 15 May 2011, there were 429 Australian influenza isolates subtyped by the WHO CC with the majority of isolates subtyped as pandemic (H1N1) 2009 (47%) or type A/H3N2 (38%) (Table 3).Table 3. Typing of influenza isolates from the WHO Collaborating Centre, from 1 January 2011 to 15 May 2011
| Type/Subtype | ACT | NSW | NT | QLD | SA | TAS | VIC | WA | TOTAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 | 0 | 8 | 28 | 127 | 0 | 2 | 15 | 22 | 202 |
| A(H3N2) | 0 | 1 | 48 | 102 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 8 | 164 |
| B | 0 | 3 | 32 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 63 |
| Total | 0 | 12 | 108 | 250 | 0 | 3 | 22 | 34 | 429 |
SOURCE: WHO CC
Please note: There may be up to a month delay on reporting of samples.
Isolates tested by the WHO CC are not necessarily a random sample of all those in the community.
Antigenic characterisation has shown influenza isolates to be a close match with the composition of the 2011 southern hemisphere influenza vaccine with some viruses showing reduced reactivity, however there has been insufficient testing to date to determine any general trends.
Antiviral Resistance
The WHO Collaborating Centre in Melbourne has reported that from 1 January 2011 to15 May 2011, one isolate (out of 706 tested) has shown resistance to oseltamivir or zanamivir by enzyme inhibition assay (EIA). One isolate out of a total of 7 pandemic H1N1 (2009) tested, have shown the H275Y mutation known to confer resistance to oseltamivir.
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3. International Influenza Surveillance
The WHO has reported that worldwide influenza activity is low and activity in the Northern Hemisphere temperate regions has returned to baseline or pre-seasonal levels. In countries in the tropical zone, influenza activity is generally low with some transmission reported in countries of Sub-Saharan Africa. Reports from National Influenza Centres from 68 countries report that from 9 April –23 April 2011, 39% of specimens reported as influenza positive were influenza type A and 61% were influenza type B. Of the sub-typed influenza A viruses, 47% were pandemic (H1N1) 2009 and 53% were influenza A(H3N2). 34. Data considerations
The information in this report is reliant on the surveillance sources available to the Department of Health and Ageing. As access to sources increase as the season progresses, this report will be updated with the additional information.This report aims to increase awareness of pandemic (H1N1) 2009 and seasonal influenza in Australia by providing an analysis of the various surveillance data sources throughout Australia. While every care has been taken in preparing this report, the Commonwealth does not accept liability for any injury or loss or damage arising from the use of, or reliance upon, the content of the report. Delays in the reporting of data may cause data to change retrospectively. For further details about information contained in this report please contact the Influenza Team through flu@health.gov.au.
Sentinel General Practice Surveillance
The Australian Sentinel Practices Research Network (ASPREN) has Sentinel GPs who report ILI presentation rates in NSW, NT, SA, ACT, VIC, QLD, TAS and WA. As jurisdictions joined ASPREN at different times and the number of GPs reporting has changed over time, the representativeness of ASPREN data in 2011 may be different from that of previous years. ASPREN data and VIDRL influenza surveillance data are sent to the Surveillance Branch on a weekly basis. Further information on Sentinel GPs’ Influenza Surveillance and ASPREN activities are available at www.dmac.adelaide.edu.au/aspren.Sentinel ED data
WA - ED surveillance data are extracted from the ‘Virus Watch’ Report. This report is provided weekly. The Western Australia Influenza Surveillance Program collects data from eight Perth EDsNSW - ED surveillance data are extracted from the ‘Weekly Influenza Report, NSW’. The New South Wales Influenza Surveillance Program collects data from 56 EDs across New South Wales.
FluTracking
FluTracking is a project of the University of Newcastle, the Hunter New England Area Health Service and the Hunter Medical Research Institute. FluTracking is an online health surveillance system to detect epidemics of influenza. It involves participants from around Australia completing a simple online weekly survey, which collects data on the rate of ILI symptoms in communities.Further information on FluTracking is available at www.flutracking.net/index.html.
National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System (NNDSS)
Laboratory confirmed influenza (all types) is notifiable in all jurisdictions in Australia. Confirmed cases of influenza are notified through NNDSS by all jurisdictions.Analyses of Australian cases are based on the diagnosis date, which is the earliest of the onset date, specimen date or notification date.
WHO Collaborating Centre for Reference & Research on Influenza (WHO CC)
Data are provided weekly to the Communicable Disease and Surveillance Branch from the WHO CC.Deaths associated with influenza and pneumonia
Nationally reported influenza associated deaths are notified by jurisdictions to the NNDSS which is maintained by the Department of Health and Ageing. However these are an underestimation of the true number of deaths occurring in the community associated with influenza.NSW influenza and pneumonia deaths data are collected from the NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages. Figure 6 is extracted from the ‘Weekly Influenza Report, NSW’
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5. References
- Flutracking Weekly Interim Report, 8 May 2011. Available from http://www.flutracking.net/about.html, Accessed 19 May 2010.
- NSW Influenza Weekly Epidemiology Report, 7-13 May 2011. Available from http://www.health.nsw.gov.au/PublicHealth/Infectious/influenza_reports.asp, Accessed 19 May 2011.
- WHO Influenza update – 6 May 2011. Available from http://www.who.int/csr/disease/influenza/latest_update_GIP_surveillance/en/index.html. Accessed 19 May 2011.