The frequency and outcome of Influenza in children admitted to Tabriz children's training and treatment center in Northwest Iran During 2014-2019

Influenza causes various seasonal respiratory diseases, resulting in significant morbidity and mortality in children. Influenza is a highly contagious disease causing global pandemics. This study aimed to investigate the frequency and outcome of influenza in children admitted to the Tabriz Children's Hospital.

This cross-sectional study included suspected influenza patients admitted to the Tabriz Children's Medical Center between 2014 and 2019 diagnosed with positive influenza through RT-PCR of pharyngeal secretions samples.

We evaluated 114 cases of influenza with a median age of 48 months (range: 2-156 months) and 53.5% were boys. A total of 87 cases (77%) were infected with subtype A/H3N2, which was the most frequent, followed by 2 cases (1.8%) of subtype A/H1N1, 23 cases (20.4%) of subtype B 23, and one case (0.8%) of uncategorized A subtype. The disease was common in winter with 63 cases (56.3%).

The frequency of influenza in children during five years was 8.95%, which is higher in males. Also, the highest frequency of influenza in the present study was observed in the age group of 1 to 5 years. The mortality rate of influenza in children during the last five years was equal to 7.9%.

Children under 5 years of age are more susceptible to influenza (especially type A subtype H3N2) and higher hospitalization rate and mortality, which can be prevented with a vaccine.