Int J Infect Dis Does COVID-19 Infection Impact on the Trend of Seasonal Influenza Infection? 11 Countries and Regions, From 2014 to 2020

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Int J Infect Dis


. 2020 May 31;S1201-9712(20)30395-7.
doi: 10.1016/j.ijid.2020.05.088. Online ahead of print.
Does COVID-19 Infection Impact on the Trend of Seasonal Influenza Infection? 11 Countries and Regions, From 2014 to 2020


Takahiro Itaya ¹ , Yuki Furuse ² , Kazuaki Jindai ³



Affiliations

• PMID: 32492532
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijid.2020.05.088

Abstract

Objectives: Infection due to the 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is widespread dramatically around the world. This COVID-19 pandemic could increase public concern to prevent infectious disease. The present study aimed to assess the relationship between the COVID-19 epidemic and decreasing another infectious disease.
Methods: This study was performed to show trends in seasonal influenza cases from the 2014-2015 season to the 2019-2020 season in 11 countries and regions, and evaluate whether the trends in the 2019-2020 season were different before and after the COVID-19 pandemic compared to previous seasons using a quasi-experimental difference-in-difference design.
Results: In East Asia, the number of seasonal influenza cases in the 2019-20 season was lower after the COVID-19 transmission compared to previous years. However, this was not the case in the American countries or in European countries.
Conclusion: The COVID-19 epidemic might have altered health behaviors, resulting in an unexpected reduction of seasonal influenza cases.

Keywords: COVID-19; Health Behavior; Human; Influenza; Pandemics.