Higher all-cause mortality in children during autumn 2009 compared with the three previous years: pooled results from eight European countries

Abstract

The paper describes weekly fluctuations of all-cause mortality observed in eight European countries during the period between week 27 and 51, 2009, in comparison with three previous years. Our preliminary data show that the mortality reported during the 2009 influenza pandemic did not reach levels normally seen during seasonal influenza epidemics. However, there was a cumulative excess mortality of 77 cases (1 per 100,000 population) in 5-14-year-olds, and possibly also among 0-4-year-olds.