Influenza infections in the 2014-2015 season and pregnancy outcomes

The most recent influenza season saw a prominent infectious burden over a period of six months in the Turkish capital, reminding observers of the pandemic in 2009 year. The aim of the present study was to investigate the consequences of seasonal outbreaks in pregnant women during the 2014-2015 influenza season.

Forty-seven pregnant female patients with symptoms of influenza-like illness who were admitted to tertiary perinatal care center in Ankara, Tukrey, between October 2014 and May 2015 were included in this case-control study. The subtype determination of influenza was performed with real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) testing. Clinical observations and pregnancy outcomes were compared with respect to subtypes.

Classifications were available for 35 patients, of whom 12 were determined to have influenza A infection, while 10 had influenza B infection. The remaining 13 patients were influenza-negative. Eight of the 22 (36.4%) influenza-positive patients delivered their babies in the preterm period (< 37 weeks). The corresponding rate was 8.3% (1/12) in the influenza-negative group. This difference was not statistically significant (p = 0.077).

Preterm deliveries in pregnant women did not differ significantly among influenza-postive and influenza-negative pregnant women in non-vaccinated study population. Further studies with larger sample sizes may provide more supporting results.