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Meta-Analysis
. 2016 Jun;22(6):1052-6.
doi: 10.3201/eid2206.151080.

Heterogeneous and Dynamic Prevalence of Asymptomatic Influenza Virus Infections

Luis Furuya-Kanamori, Mitchell Cox, Gabriel J Milinovich, Ricardo J Soares Magalhaes, Ian M Mackay, Laith Yakob
Meta-Analysis

Heterogeneous and Dynamic Prevalence of Asymptomatic Influenza Virus Infections

Luis Furuya-Kanamori et al. Emerg Infect Dis. 2016 Jun.

Abstract

Influenza infection manifests in a wide spectrum of severity, including symptomless pathogen carriers. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of 55 studies to elucidate the proportional representation of these asymptomatic infected persons. We observed extensive heterogeneity among these studies. The prevalence of asymptomatic carriage (total absence of symptoms) ranged from 5.2% to 35.5% and subclinical cases (illness that did not meet the criteria for acute respiratory or influenza-like illness) from 25.4% to 61.8%. Statistical analysis showed that the heterogeneity could not be explained by the type of influenza, the laboratory tests used to detect the virus, the year of the study, or the location of the study. Projections of infection spread and strategies for disease control require that we identify the proportional representation of these insidious spreaders early on in the emergence of new influenza subtypes or strains and track how this rate evolves over time and space.

Keywords: asymptomatic; flu; influenza; meta-analysis; pandemic; prevalence; subclinical; symptomless proportion.

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Figures

Figure
Figure
PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis) flowchart of literature search for systematic review and meta-analysis of asymptomatic and subclinical influenza infection prevalence.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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