Journal article

The Spectrum and Burden of Influenza-Associated Neurological Disease in Children: Combined Encephalitis and Influenza Sentinel Site Surveillance From Australia, 2013-2015

Philip N Britton, Christopher C Blyth, Kristine Macartney, Russell C Dale, Jean Li-Kim-Moy, Gulam Khandaker, Nigel W Crawford, Helen Marshall, Julia E Clark, Elizabeth J Elliott, Robert Booy, Allen C Cheng, Cheryl A Jones

CLINICAL INFECTIOUS DISEASES | OXFORD UNIV PRESS INC | Published : 2017

Abstract

BACKGROUND: There are few longitudinal studies of seasonal influenza-associated neurological disease (IAND) and none from the Southern Hemisphere. METHODS: We extracted prospectively acquired Australian surveillance data from 2 studies nested within the Paediatric Active Enhanced Disease Surveillance (PAEDS) network: the Influenza Complications Alert Network (FluCAN) study and the Australian Childhood Encephalitis (ACE) study between 2013 and 2015. We described the clinical features and severity of IAND in children, including influenza-associated encephalitis/encephalopathy (IAE). We calculated the proportion of hospitalized influenza that is associated with IAND and IAE, and incidence of IA..

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Grants

Awarded by National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC)


Awarded by NHMRC


Awarded by NHMRC Centre for Research Excellence (CRE) in critical infections


Awarded by NHMRC CRE in emerging infectious diseases


Funding Acknowledgements

This work was supported by an National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) postgraduate scholarship (1074547), Royal Australasian College of Physicians NHMRC Award for Excellence, and Norah Therese Hayes-Ratcliffe/Sydney Medical School Dean's paediatric infectious diseases fellowship to P. N. B.; an NHMRC Early Career Fellowship (1054414) to G. K.; NHMRC Career Development Awards to C. C. B. (1111596), A. C. C. (1068732), and H. M. (1084951); an NHMRC Practitioner Fellowship (1021480) to E. E.; an NHMRC Centre for Research Excellence (CRE) in critical infections (1001021) to C. A. J. and R. B.; and an NHMRC CRE in emerging infectious diseases (1102962) to C. A. J. PAEDS is funded by an NHMRC Partnership Grant (1113851), the Australian Government Department of Health, and state health departments. FluCAN is funded by the Australian Government Department of Health.