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. 2016 Oct;144(13):2883-8.
doi: 10.1017/S0950268816000765. Epub 2016 Apr 26.

Regional differences in long-term cycles and seasonality of Puumala virus infections, Finland, 1995-2014

J Sane  1 , J Ollgren  1 , P Makary  1 , O Vapalahti  2 , M Kuusi  1 , O Lyytikäinen  1
Affiliations

Regional differences in long-term cycles and seasonality of Puumala virus infections, Finland, 1995-2014

J Sane et al. Epidemiol Infect. 2016 Oct.

Abstract

Puumala hantavirus (PUUV) causes haemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome in humans, an endemic disease in Finland. We aimed to study recent trends in PUUV infections in Finland, to evaluate whether there are regional differences in seasonality and long-term cycles and whether the patterns have changed over time. We analysed serologically confirmed acute PUUV infections reported to the National Infectious Disease Register from 1 April 1995 to 31 March 2014. A total of 30 942 cases of PUUV infections were identified during the study period. The average annual incidence was 31 cases/100 000 person-years with the highest in Eastern Finland and the lowest in Southwestern Finland. Throughout Finland there was not an increasing trend in incidence but changes in incidence, seasonality and long-term cycles differed regionally. Long-term cycles supported by high Bayesian posterior probabilities (73-100%) differed between the south and the north, shifting from 3 to 4 years, respectively. Temporal changes in seasonality were most prominent in Southwestern Finland. The pattern of human PUUV infection epidemiology probably primarily reflects the spatio-temporal interaction between bank-vole population dynamics and climate.

Keywords: Epidemiology; hantavirus; statistics; surveillance; zoonoses.

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Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.
Geographical division showing the regional states in Finland.
Fig. 2.
Fig. 2.
Average incidence of Puumala hantavirus infection by month in the three time periods, Southern Finland, 1 April 1995–31 March 2014. The vertical bars represent 95% credible intervals.
Fig. 3.
Fig. 3.
Average incidence of Puumala hantavirus infection by month in the three time periods, Southwestern Finland, 1 April 1995–31 March 2014. The vertical bars represent 95% credible intervals.
Fig. 4.
Fig. 4.
Average incidence of Puumala hantavirus infection by month in the three time periods, Lapland, 1 April 1995–31 March 2014. The vertical bars represent 95% credible intervals
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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