Summary of the 2018-2019 influenza season among Department of Defense service members and other beneficiaries

MSMR. 2020 Jun;27(6):3-7.

Abstract

The Armed Forces Health Surveillance Branch conducts weekly surveillance of influenza activity among Department of Defense (DoD) populations each influenza season. This report provides a summary of the data from the 2018-2019 influenza season. Ambulatory data for influenza-like illnesses (ILIs), influenza hospitalization data, and lab data for influenza-confirmed cases were used for the surveillance. The 2018-2019 season differed from past seasons in that it was much longer, had a later peak, and the predominant strain of influenza changed from influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 at the beginning of the season to influenza A(H3N2) in the middle of the season. Non-service member beneficiaries accounted for the majority of ILI-related encounters and hospitalizations. However, there were still 149 influenza-related hospitalizations among service members during the 2018- 2019 season. Continued weekly surveillance of influenza among DoD populations is crucial to track increases in activity each season and the potential emergence of new and/or severe influenza subtypes.

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Child
  • Child, Preschool
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Infant
  • Infant, Newborn
  • Influenza A Virus, H1N1 Subtype / isolation & purification
  • Influenza A Virus, H3N2 Subtype / isolation & purification
  • Influenza, Human / epidemiology*
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Military Family / statistics & numerical data*
  • Military Personnel / statistics & numerical data*
  • Population Surveillance
  • United States / epidemiology
  • Young Adult