ArticlePloS one2016
Temporal Patterns of Influenza A and B in Tropical and Temperate Countries: What Are the Lessons for Influenza Vaccination?
Article in PloS one, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 62 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
62 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Corticosteroids as adjunctive therapy in the treatment of influenza.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2019Pooled it
- Quadrivalent Influenza Vaccine Prevents Illness and Reduces Healthcare Utilization Across Diverse Geographic Regions During Five Influenza Seasons: A Randomized Clinical Trial.The Pediatric infectious disease journal · 2020Trial
- Global influenza epidemiology after 2020: patterns of circulation, epidemic timing and duration, and implications for vaccination strategies.Euro surveillance : bulletin Europeen sur les maladies transmissibles = European communicable disease bulletin · 2026Article
- Temporal trends and burden of influenza B virus lineages in Dibrugarh, Assam (2014-2025): predominance of Victoria with early circulation of Yamagata.Archives of virology · 2026Article
- Uncovering the post-pandemic timing of influenza, RSV, and COVID-19 driving seasonal influenza-like illness in the United States: a retrospective ecological study.Lancet regional health. Americas · 2026Article
- Temporal Trends in Lower Respiratory Infection Mortality in Ecuador, 2012-2022.Tropical medicine and infectious disease · 2026Article
- Epidemiological dynamics of influenza B virus across multiple seasons in Kenya and Uganda inferred from sequence data, 2010-2021.BMC infectious diseases · 2025Article
- Optimal Timing of Vaccination: A Narrative Review of Integrating Strategies for COVID-19, Influenza, and Respiratory Syncytial Virus.Infectious diseases and therapy · 2025Review
- Assessment of Influenza Severity in Bhutan by Using WHO Framework Pandemic Influenza Severity Assessment (PISA): An Implementation Research Study.Influenza and other respiratory viruses · 2025Article
- Spatiotemporal patterns of influenza incidence changes in mainland China, 2004-2020.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
- Concepts and methods for predicting viral evolution.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2024Article
- Article
- Evolution of Influenza A(H3N2) Viruses in Bhutan for Two Consecutive Years, 2022 and 2023.Influenza and other respiratory viruses · 2024Article
- Introducing seasonal influenza vaccine in Bhutan: Country experience and achievements.Vaccine · 2023Article
- Spatio-temporal evolution patterns of influenza incidence and its nonlinear spatial correlation with environmental pollutants in China.BMC public health · 2023Article
- Immunogenicity and safety of inactivated quadrivalent influenza vaccine compared with the trivalent vaccine for influenza infection: an overview of systematic reviews.BMC infectious diseases · 2023Review
- Global variability of influenza activity and virus subtype circulation from 2011 to 2023.BMJ open respiratory research · 2023Article
- Article
- Circulation and seasonality of influenza viruses in different transmission zones in Africa.BMC infectious diseases · 2022Article
- Air Pollution-Related Respiratory Diseases and Associated Environmental Factors in Chiang Mai, Thailand, in 2011-2020.Tropical medicine and infectious disease · 2022Article
2 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
61 authors.
Funding
Abstract
introductionDetermining the optimal time to vaccinate is important for influenza vaccination programmes. Here, we assessed the temporal characteristics of influenza epidemics in the Northern and Southern hemispheres and in the tropics, and discuss their implications for vaccination programmes.
methodsThis was a retrospective analysis of surveillance data between 2000 and 2014 from the Global Influenza B Study database. The seasonal peak of influenza was defined as the week with the most reported cases (overall, A, and B) in the season. The duration of seasonal activity was assessed using the maximum proportion of influenza cases during three consecutive months and the minimum number of months with ≥80% of cases in the season. We also assessed whether co-circulation of A and B virus types affected the duration of influenza epidemics.
results212 influenza seasons and 571,907 cases were included from 30 countries. In tropical countries, the seasonal influenza activity lasted longer and the peaks of influenza A and B coincided less frequently than in temperate countries. Temporal characteristics of influenza epidemics were heterogeneous in the tropics, with distinct seasonal epidemics observed only in some countries. Seasons with co-circulation of influenza A and B were longer than influenza A seasons, especially in the tropics. DISCUSSION: Our findings show that influenza seasonality is less well defined in the tropics than in temperate regions. This has important implications for vaccination programmes in these countries. High-quality influenza surveillance systems are needed in the tropics to enable decisions about when to vaccinate.
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