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Influenza is more common than Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) among hospitalized adult Saudi patients

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  • Influenza is more common than Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) among hospitalized adult Saudi patients

    Travel Med Infect Dis. 2017 Oct 12. pii: S1477-8939(17)30159-X. doi: 10.1016/j.tmaid.2017.10.004. [Epub ahead of print]
    Influenza is more common than Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) among hospitalized adult Saudi patients.

    Al-Tawfiq JA1, Rabaan AA2, Hinedi K3.
    Author information

    Abstract

    BACKGROUND:

    Since the initial description of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV), we adopted a systematic process of screening admitted patients with community acquired pneumonia. Here, we report the result of the surveillance activity in a general hospital in Saudi Arabia over a four year period.
    MATERIALS AND METHODS:

    All admitted patients with community acquired pneumonia from 2012 to 2016 were tested for MERS-CoV. In addition, testing for influenza viruses was carried out starting April 2015.
    RESULTS:

    During the study period, a total of 2657 patients were screened for MERS-CoV and only 20 (0.74%) tested positive. From January 2015 to December 2016, a total of 1644 patients were tested for both MERS-CoV and influenza. None of the patients tested positive for MERS-CoV and 271 (16.4%) were positive for influenza. The detected influenza viruses were Influenza A (107, 6.5%), pandemic 2009 H1N1 (n = 120, 7.3%), and Influenza B (n = 44, 2.7%). Pandemic H1N1 was the most common influenza in 2015 with a peak in peaked October to December and influenza A other than H1N1 was more common in 2016 with a peak in August and then October to December.
    CONCLUSIONS:

    MERS-CoV was a rare cause of community acquired pneumonia and other viral causes including influenza were much more common. Thus, admitted patients are potentially manageable with Oseltamivir or Zanamivir therapy.
    Copyright ? 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.


    KEYWORDS:

    CAP; Community acquired pneumonia; Influenza; MERS-CoV; Middle east respiratory syndrome coronavirus; Surveillance

    PMID: 29031867 DOI: 10.1016/j.tmaid.2017.10.004
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