Influenza and Other Respiratory Viruses Involved in Severe Acute Respiratory Disease in Northern Italy during the Pandemic and Postpandemic Period (2009–2011)

Since 2009 pandemic, international health authorities recommended monitoring severe and complicated cases of respiratory disease, that is, severe acute respiratory infection (SARI) and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). We evaluated the proportion of SARI/ARDS cases and deaths due to influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 infection and the impact of other respiratory viruses during pandemic and postpandemic period (2009-2011) in northern Italy; additionally we searched for unknown viruses in those cases for which diagnosis remained negative. 206 respiratory samples were collected from SARI/ARDS cases and analyzed by real-time RT-PCR/PCR to investigate influenza viruses and other common respiratory pathogens; also, a…

• RL
  Regione Lombardia