Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 30, 2026

A Luciferase-fluorescent Reporter Influenza Virus for Live Imaging and Quantification of Viral Infection
05:21

A Luciferase-fluorescent Reporter Influenza Virus for Live Imaging and Quantification of Viral Infection

Published on: August 14, 2019

Seasonal influenza: the burden of disease in children

Pieter L A Fraaij1, Terho Heikkinen

  • 1Department of Virology, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. p.fraaij@erasmusmc.nl

Vaccine
|August 9, 2011
PubMed

Insights

Influenza causes few child deaths but frequent hospitalizations and significant outpatient illness. This impacts families through high consultation rates, complications, and parental work absence.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatrics
  • Infectious Diseases
  • Public Health

Background:

  • Influenza virus-related illnesses in children have been increasingly documented over the last decade.
  • Understanding the full spectrum of influenza impact in pediatric populations is crucial for public health strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review and synthesize current data on the impact of influenza virus-related disease in children.
  • To assess the burden of influenza across different healthcare settings in pediatric populations.

Main Methods:

  • Systematic review and discussion of accumulated data on pediatric influenza.
  • Analysis of disease impact in outpatient, inpatient, and mortality settings.

Main Results:

  • Mortality directly attributed to influenza in children is relatively low.
  • Influenza-related hospitalizations in children are frequent.
  • The majority of the influenza disease burden in children occurs in the outpatient setting, leading to high consultation rates, frequent complications, and significant parental work absenteeism.

Conclusions:

  • While influenza mortality in children is limited, the disease imposes a substantial burden through hospitalizations and outpatient visits.
  • Influenza significantly impacts pediatric healthcare utilization and family life, underscoring the need for effective prevention and management strategies.

More Related Videos

Rapid Molecular Detection and Differentiation of Influenza Viruses A and B05:38

Rapid Molecular Detection and Differentiation of Influenza Viruses A and B

Published on: January 30, 2017

Use of an Influenza Antigen Microarray to Measure the Breadth of Serum Antibodies Across Virus Subtypes08:52

Use of an Influenza Antigen Microarray to Measure the Breadth of Serum Antibodies Across Virus Subtypes

Published on: July 26, 2019

Related Concept Videos

Influenza01:27

Influenza

Influenza is an acute, highly communicable viral disease that affects the respiratory tract and is responsible for seasonal epidemics worldwide. Influenza A is the most prevalent type associated with widespread outbreaks and is subtyped based on two surface glycoproteins: hemagglutinin (H) and neuraminidase (N), as in H1N1. These glycoproteins are essential for viral infectivity, transmission, and immune recognition. Transmission occurs primarily through respiratory droplets and contaminated...
Vaccinations01:51

Vaccinations

Overview
Respiratory Syncytial Virus Disease01:29

Respiratory Syncytial Virus Disease

Human respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a widespread pathogen that primarily targets infants and young children but also poses a serious health risk to elderly and immunocompromised individuals. Belonging to the Pneumoviridae family, RSV is a negative-sense, single-stranded RNA virus within the Pneumovirus genus. Its global health burden is significant, with millions of cases annually resulting in hospitalizations and mortality, particularly in resource-limited settings. Although most...
Infectious Diseases and Their Occurrence01:28

Infectious Diseases and Their Occurrence

Infectious diseases appear in populations through various transmission patterns, influenced by pathogen characteristics, population immunity, environmental conditions, and social behavior. Understanding these patterns is essential for effective public health surveillance and intervention. These categories—sporadic, outbreak, epidemic, pandemic, and endemic—help frame the nature and scope of disease events.Sporadic diseases occur irregularly and infrequently, without a predictable temporal or...
Principles of Disease Surveillance01:26

Principles of Disease Surveillance

Disease surveillance is the systematic collection, analysis, and interpretation of health data essential to the planning, implementation, and evaluation of public health practice. This process integrates data dissemination to entities responsible for preventing and controlling disease, injury, and disability. Surveillance systems provide crucial information for action, helping public health authorities make informed decisions to manage and prevent outbreaks, ensure public safety, optimize...
Poliomyelitis01:17

Poliomyelitis

Poliomyelitis is caused by poliovirus, a small, non-enveloped, positive-sense RNA virus of the Picornaviridae family and Enterovirus genus. Transmission occurs primarily via the fecal-oral route, often through ingestion of contaminated water or food. The virus initially replicates in the oropharynx and intestinal mucosa, particularly in lymphoid tissues such as the tonsils, Peyer’s patches, and regional lymph nodes. Primary viremia follows, allowing dissemination throughout the body.In most...