¶ … Epidemiological Study on Influenza Malaria

The study hypothesized that in a population with high risk of developing complications, there is bound to be a high incidence of severe cases and lethality of type A influenza (Lera et al., 2011, p. 372).

The study population is the children attended to at the University Hospital Vall d'Hebron which is a third-level center in Barcelona. The facility serves a population of 45,000 and attends to patients up to the age of 16 years. The study included all patients seen at the pediatric emergency room between July 1st and December 31st of 2009 who were suffering from clinically suspected influenza type A (H1N1). The patients had to meet the criteria for microbiological study according to the Departament de Salut of the Generalitat de Catalunya protocol. The patients had to have travelled to an epidemic region or come into contact with a confirmed case in the last 10 days before the onset of their symptoms. The patients were given empirical treatment with oseltamivir except for those below 1 year of age. If the microbiological study proved negative, treatment was also stopped. Patients who had confirmed cases of influenza type A were followed by through the use of telephone interviews to collect data on the clinical manifestation, duration, and any adverse effects as a result of the antiviral treatment administered (Lera et al., 2011, p. 372).

Risk factors or exposures being studied

The variables that were being studied were age, sex, co-morbidity with diseases such as chronic lung disease, diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disease, chronic liver disease, immunosuppression, asplenia or chronic treatment with acetylsalicyclic acid, neuromuscular disease or encephalopathy, and haemoglobinopathy...

372).
Measurement of risk factors or exposures

Two samples were collected from each of the patients. The first was a nasal swab and the second was a throat swab or a nasopharyngeal aspirate specimen. To type and subtype the influenza type A virus, two non-commercial multiplex real-time reverse transcription (RT) polymerase chain reactions (PCR) were performed. A conventional commercial reverse RT-PCR reaction was also conducted. The first RT-PCT was conducted to detect type A and type B influenza viruses while the second detected the subtypes H1, H3 and H5 of the type A virus. The third RT-PCT used Seeplex® Flu A ACE subtyping in order to detect the new H1 subtype variant of the type A virus (Lera et al., 2011, pp. 372-373).

From the 13th of October 2009, the researchers conducted two commercial multiplex RT-PCRs in order to type and subtype the type A virus using ProFlu plus and ProFlu influenza A subtyping. ProFlu plus was used to detect the type A, type B and respiratory syncytial virus while ProFlu was used to detect seasonal H1 and H3 subtypes and the new H1 variant (Lera et al., 2011, p. 373).

Health outcome being studied and measurement of health outcome variable

The health outcome being studied is the incidence of severe cases of type A influenza and the lethality of infection in…