The DoD Global, Laboratory-based, Influenza Surveillance Program: summary for the 2013-2014 influenza season

Abstract

This report for the 2013-2014 influenza season summarizes the results of influenza surveillance carried out by the DoD Global, Laboratory-based, Influenza Surveillance Program, which is managed by the U.S. Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine Epidemiology Consult Service and Epidemiology Laboratory at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, OH. Sentinel sites submitted 3,903 specimens for clinical diagnostic testing and 1,163 (29.8%) were positive for influenza virus. The predominant influenza subtype was influenza A(H1N1)pdm09, identified in 79.2% of all influenza-positive specimens. The other most common subtypes were influenza A(H3N2) (10.5%) and influenza B (10.1%). In August 2014, a human case of influenza A(H3N2) variant was identified in a patient with a history of exposure to swine. Adjusted vaccine effectiveness (VE) was calculated among 1,016 military dependents and retirees in the U.S. and was found to be 44.8% for all vaccine types. Uncertainties and other limitations associated with estimating VE are discussed.