An outbreak of influenza in Jamaica (1986)

An outbreak of febrile illness at the Police Training Academy in St. Catherine, Jamaica in October, 1986 is described. Influenza A similar to type A/Taiwan/86 (H1N1) was confirmed serologically in 33 cases, and Influenza B similar to type B/Ann Arbor/86 in 1 case. Clinical findings included upper respiratory symptoms (97%) headache (74%), fever (68%), joint pains (39%) and retro-orbital pain (26%). The role of vaccination and chemoprophylaxis in the prevention of influenza is discussed, and the importance of surveillance is stressed.