Influenza-Related Deaths in the Czech Republic Over 21 Seasons

Area of Science:

• Epidemiology
• Public Health
• Infectious Diseases

Background:

• Influenza is a significant cause of illness and death, with annual epidemics.
• Understanding influenza's impact on mortality is crucial for public health planning.

Purpose of the Study:

• To estimate the excess mortality attributable to influenza in the Czech Republic.
• To analyze age-specific patterns of influenza-related deaths.

Main Methods:

• Utilized Czech national surveillance data for all-cause mortality and influenza-like illness (1999-2020).
• Applied Poisson generalized additive models to daily death counts by age group.
• Defined excess deaths using the 90th percentile of deaths during non-epidemic periods.

Main Results:

• An estimated 22,306 excess deaths were attributed to influenza over the study period.
• The majority of excess deaths (76%) occurred in individuals aged 65 and over.
• Mortality risk increased with age, peaking in the 85-94 year age groups.

Conclusions:

• Influenza accounted for at least 0.98% of all-cause mortality in the Czech Republic.
• The substantial excess mortality underscores the necessity of robust influenza prevention measures.
• Targeted public health interventions are vital to mitigate influenza's impact, particularly in older populations.