European Journal of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences

CLINICAL FEATURES AND EPIDEMIOLOGICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF PANDEMIC INFLUENZA A/H1N1PDM09 IN CÔTE D'IVOIRE

Konan Kouassi Yannick*, Kadjo Adjé Hervé Albéric Junior, Kouassi Konan Adjoua Rose Marie Clémence, Kouakou Bertin, DOSSO Brétin-Mireille and N’Guetta Assanvo Simon-Pierre

ABSTRACT

Background: Pandemic influenza A/H1N1Pdm09 viruses are among the most diagnosed and isolated influenza viruses worldwide. Their movement is widely documented but factors influencing this movement still poorly described. Côte d'Ivoire is at risk of influenza epidemics because of the precarious of he’s health system and the poverty of he’s population. The objective of this study is to describe the demographic factors and the characteristics of the risk factors associated with the movement of pandemic influenza A/H1N1Pdm09 in Côte d'Ivoire. Methods: Diagnosis of A/H1N1Pdm09 was performed by polymerase chain reaction targeting the hemagglutinin (HA) gene using SuperScript III Platinum® One-Step qRT-PCR System Amplification Kit (Invitrogen, USA) and primer Fw: AACTACTACTGGACTCTRCTKGAA, Rw: CCATTGGTGCATTTGAGKTGATG and probe : FAM-TGAYCCAAAGCCTCTACTCAGTGCGAAAGC-BHQ-1. RT-PCR was performed on 16,348 nasopharyngeal specimens collected from 2010 to 2017. Samples were collected from nine monitoring sites. Microsoft Excel and R 3.0.1 software were used for data analysis. Results: A proportion of 9.16 % of 16,348 samples tested were positive for influenza A over the entire study period and 57.41 % were A/H1N1Pdm09. A/H1N1Pdm09 was significantly distributed over the entire study period, within years and over all seasons. The average age of persons with A/H1N1Pdm09 was 12.47 and the most infected age group was 6 to 15, who were 3.04 times more likely to be infected than persons over 65 years of age. Malnutrition is the risk factor most associated with A/H1N1Pdm09 infections at a rate of 34.38%. Conclusion: Epidemiology of pandemic influenza in Côte d'Ivoire is characterized by an almost continuous movement of these viruses. It has a more pronounced impact among people aged 6 to 15 years and is a major health problem for those suffering from malnutrition and chronic pneumonia.

Keywords: Influenza A/H1N1Pdm09, Demographic characterization, risk factor, Côte d'Ivoire.