Background: Seasonal influenza virus is a common cause of acute lower respiratory infection (ALRI) in young children. In 2008, we estimated that 20 million influenza-virus-associated ALRI and 1 million influenza-virus-associated severe ALRI occurred in children under 5 years globally. Despite this substantial burden, only a few low-income and middle-income countries have adopted routine influenza vaccination policies for children and, where present, these have achieved only low or unknown levels of vaccine uptake. Moreover, the influenza burden might have changed due to the emergence and circulation of influenza A/H1N1pdm09.

Author List: Wang X, Li Y, O’Brien KL, Madhi SA, Widdowson MA, Byass P, Omer SB, Abbas Q, Ali A, Amu A, Azziz-Baumgartner E, Bassat Q, Abdullah Brooks W, Chaves SS, Chung A, Cohen C, Echavarria M, Fasce RA, Gentile A, Gordon A, Groome M, Heikkinen T, Hirve S, Jara JH, Katz MA, Khuri-Bulos N, Krishnan A, de Leon O, Lucero MG, McCracken JP, Mira-Iglesias A, Moïsi JC, Munywoki PK, Ourohiré M, Polack FP, Rahi M, Rasmussen ZA, Rath BA, Saha SK, Simões EA, Sotomayor V, Thamthitiwat S, Treurnicht FK, Wamukoya M, Yoshida LM, Zar HJ, Campbell H, Nair H

Journal Name: Respiratory Virus Global Epidemiology Network. Lancet Glob Health. 2020 Apr;8(4):e497-e510. doi: 10.1016/S2214-109X(19)30545-5. Epub 2020 Feb 20. PMID: 32087815; PMCID: PMC7083228.