Progress and Remaining Gaps in Estimating the Global Disease Burden of Influenza

Abstract

Influenza has long been a global public health priority because of the threat of another global pandemic. Although data are available for the annual burden of seasonal influenza in many developed countries, fewer disease burden data are available for low-income and tropical countries. In recent years, however, the surveillance systems created as part of national pandemic preparedness efforts have produced substantial data on the epidemiology and impact of influenza in countries where data were sparse. These data are leading to greater interest in seasonal influenza, including implementation of vaccination programs. However, a lack of quality data on severe influenza, nonrespiratory outcomes, and high-risk groups, as well as a need for better mathematical models and economic evaluations, are some of the major gaps that remain. These gaps are the focus of multilateral research and surveillance efforts that will strengthen global efforts in influenza control in the future.

Keywords: World Health Organization; disease burden; epidemiology; influenza; influenza vaccines; pandemic influenza; respiratory infections; surveillance; vaccines; viruses.

Figure

Countries with burden of disease estimates that have agreed to share data for the global estimate of influenza mortality and influenza-associated hospitalizations, as of April 2017: blue, morbidity estimates; brown, mortality estimates; green, morbidity and mortality estimates; white, data not available.