The impact of COVID-19 pandemic on seasonal influenza virus

Abstract

: The COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent implementation of non pharmaceutical interventions reduced transmission of Influenza viruses. The WHO has also noticed a drop-in influenza virus cases; however, it hasn't been precisely characterized. The prospect of concurrent influenza and COVID-19 outbreaks is a major concern for public health professionals. Therefore, in this study, we present our limited data on seasonal influenza activity during COVID -19 period (November 2021–October 2022). A retrospective analysis was conducted in 100 positive and 100 negative COVID-19 cases to look for co-infection with Influenza viruses. Influenza screening was performed with multiplex real-time RT-PCR using standardized techniques for Influenza H1N1/H3N2 with Inf-B on archived respiratory samples. A total of 8% Influenza cases were found with coinfection in only 05 cases denoting a drop of influenza infection during this period. Influenza A(H1N1) was the most common influenza virus followed by Influenza B (lineage not determined). The clinical outcomes of co-infections could not be anticipated and may worsen if novel COVID-19 variants continue to appear. The use of community mitigation measures for the COVID-19 pandemic, are likely to be effective in reducing the incidence of seasonal influenza.