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. 2023 May 11;17(5):e13140.
doi: 10.1111/irv.13140. eCollection 2023 May.

The impact of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic on global influenza surveillance: Insights from 18 National Influenza Centers based on a survey conducted between November 2021 and March 2022

Lisa Staadegaard  1 , Marco Del Riccio  1   2 , Sytske Wiegersma  1 , Clotilde El Guerche-Séblain  3 , Erica Dueger  3 , Meral Akçay  3 , Jean-Sebastien Casalegno  1   4 , Michel Dückers  1   5   6 , Saverio Caini  1 , John Paget  1 ; NIC Collaborators
Collaborators, Affiliations

The impact of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic on global influenza surveillance: Insights from 18 National Influenza Centers based on a survey conducted between November 2021 and March 2022

Lisa Staadegaard et al. Influenza Other Respir Viruses. .

Abstract

Background: National Influenza Centers (NICs) have played a crucial role in the surveillance of SARS-CoV-2. The FluCov project, covering 22 countries, was initiated to monitor the impact of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic on influenza activity.

Methods: This project consisted of an epidemiological bulletin and NIC survey. The survey, designed to assess the impact of the pandemic on the influenza surveillance system, was shared with 36 NICs located across 22 countries. NICs were invited to reply between November 2021 and March 2022.

Results: We received 18 responses from NICs in 14 countries. Most NICs (76%) indicated that the number of samples tested for influenza decreased. Yet, many NICs (60%) were able to increase their laboratory testing capacity and the "robustness" (e.g., number of sentinel sites) (59%) of their surveillance systems. In addition, sample sources (e.g., hospital or outpatient setting) shifted. All NICs reported a higher burden of work following the onset of the pandemic, with some NICs hiring additional staff or partial outsourcing to other institutes or departments. Many NICs anticipate the future integration of SARS-CoV-2 surveillance into the existing respiratory surveillance system.

Discussion: The survey shows the profound impact of SARS-CoV-2 on national influenza surveillance in the first 27 months of the pandemic. Surveillance activities were temporarily disrupted, whilst priority was given to SARS-CoV-2. However, most NICs have shown rapid adaptive capacity underlining the importance of strong national influenza surveillance systems. These developments have the potential to benefit global respiratory surveillance in the years to come; however, questions about sustainability remain.

Keywords: SARS‐CoV‐2; epidemics; influenza; public health; surveillance.

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Conflict of interest statement

JP, MDR, SC, and LS declare that Nivel has previously received RSV research grants from Sanofi Pasteur/AstraZeneca, the Foundation for Influenza Epidemiology, and the European Union's Innovative Medicines Initiative. CEG, ED, and MA are Sanofi employees and may hold shares and/or stock options in the company. The other authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Influenza circulation as reported to FluNet for 22 countries (2019–2022). Grey shaded area indicates the time before COVID‐19 was characterized as a pandemic (11/03/2020)
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Map portraying the origin of the NICs that replied to the survey. For countries in green, we had one participating NIC, and countries in blue had two. Below figure: Countries listed are Australia, Brazil, France, India, Israel, Italy, Netherlands, Philippines, South Africa, Spain, Thailand, United Kingdom, United States, and Vietnam.
FIGURE 3
FIGURE 3
Responses to the Survey Question: Has there been a change in the total number of specimens tested for influenza since the SARS‐CoV‐2 pandemic? (n = 17).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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