الفهرس 
REVIEW OF THELITERATUREOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
Influenza is an acute contagious respiratory disease that results in high rates of morbidity and mortality, which has led to several historical pandemics. WHO sentinel sites continuously monitor changes in epidemiology of influenza. This work aimed to establish a hospital- based surveillance system for severe respiratory infections with laboratory confirmation of influenza infection, characterize the epidemiology of respiratory infections among children and adults admitted to Cairo University Hospitals, and to assess the outcome of SARI patients. Methods: Hospital-wide surveillance was conducted for SARI cases from February 2010 to May 2011. All hospitalized patients who met the WHO criteria for SARI were enrolled, throat and nasopharyngeal swabs taken. Influenza testing was conducted successfully in the clinical laboratories of Clinical Pathology Department by PCR using the CDC protocol for the first time. Quality assurance showed excellent agreement between results of CUH laboratory and the reference laboratory in NAMRU-3. PCR was performed for other respiratory viruses, RSV, hMPVm hPIV, and adenovirus. Results: Out of 2625 individuals with respiratory symptoms screened, 1412 (53.8%) were enrolled. Viral etiology was identified in 444 (31.4%). Pandemic H1N1 influenza was detected in 1.8%, H3 in 0.2% and Influenza B in 1.1. Conclusion: we could establish a hospital- based surveillance system and conduct clinical and laboratory surveillance for SARI. For the first time influenza viruses were detected by PCR in CUH.
Key words:
(H1N1, SARI, surveillance, Influenza RT-PCR)