An influenza outbreak in a South African mine, following the relaxation of COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, September – December 2021
Introduction: In November 2021, two months after lifting COVID-19 restrictions, a cluster of laboratory-confirmed influenza cases was detected outside of the normal influenza season at a mine in South Africa. We aimed to determine factors associated with influenza infection. Methods: A suspe...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
African Field Epidemiology Network
2024-08-01
|
| Series: | Journal of Interventional Epidemiology and Public Health |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.afenet-journal.net/content/article/7/40/full/ |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1849689732254007296 |
|---|---|
| author | Fiona Els Mariana Khoza Inge Kleinhans Hetani Mdose Sibongile Walaza Cheryl Cohen Anne von Gottberg Fahima Moosa Mignon du Plessis Nicole Wolter Chijioke Nkemjika Umunnakwe Zinhle Makatini Genevie Ntshoe Andronica Moipone Shonhiwa Nevashan Govender Hugo Tempelman Lourens Duvenhage Charles Mandivenyi Marlence Freda Ngobeni Jackie Kleynhans |
| author_facet | Fiona Els Mariana Khoza Inge Kleinhans Hetani Mdose Sibongile Walaza Cheryl Cohen Anne von Gottberg Fahima Moosa Mignon du Plessis Nicole Wolter Chijioke Nkemjika Umunnakwe Zinhle Makatini Genevie Ntshoe Andronica Moipone Shonhiwa Nevashan Govender Hugo Tempelman Lourens Duvenhage Charles Mandivenyi Marlence Freda Ngobeni Jackie Kleynhans |
| author_sort | Fiona Els |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Introduction: In November 2021, two months after lifting COVID-19 restrictions, a cluster of laboratory-confirmed influenza cases was detected outside of the normal influenza season at a mine in South Africa. We aimed to determine factors associated with influenza infection.
Methods: A suspected influenza case was an employee presenting with acute onset of ≥1 symptom (fever, cough, rhinorrhoea, sore throat, shortness of breath, loss of smell or taste, myalgia, diarrhoea, nausea, vomiting) or any employee returning from leave or newly recruited. A confirmed influenza case was any person with laboratory-confirmed influenza. We calculated the influenza attack rate among 10 030 mine employees and assessed factors associated with influenza infection from 1 September–13 December 2021 using logistic regression.
Results: There were 3,534 suspected influenza cases of which 161 tested influenza positive (influenza attack rate 1.6%, 161/10 030). Of the suspected influenza cases, 82% (2,886/3,534) were male and the mean age was 40-years. Among the confirmed cases, 87% (140/161) were male and the mean age was 39-years (IQR:31-45). Factors associated with laboratory-confirmed influenza were age 18-35-years (aOR 2.09; 95%CI 1.21-3.60) or 36-49 years (aOR 1.68, 95% CI: 1.02-2.79) vs. ≥50 years and working as an operator (aOR 3.47; 95%CI 1.23-9.75) or in engineering (aOR 3.20; 95%CI 1.03-9.98) vs. in the office. Of the 118 samples that were subtyped, 88 (74.6%) were influenza A(H1N1)pdm09.
Conclusion: Out-of-season influenza outbreaks can occur in semi-closed communities. Influenza vaccines could help reduce illness and work absenteeism. Immediate recommendations included isolation of infected individuals and more personalized education to increase adherence to non-pharmaceutical interventions |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-721a4ac3f33d45e1a2d9c1d2f9da61ad |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2664-2824 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-08-01 |
| publisher | African Field Epidemiology Network |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Interventional Epidemiology and Public Health |
| spelling | doaj-art-721a4ac3f33d45e1a2d9c1d2f9da61ad2025-08-20T03:21:31ZengAfrican Field Epidemiology NetworkJournal of Interventional Epidemiology and Public Health2664-28242024-08-0173https://doi.org/10.37432/jieph.2024.7.3.131An influenza outbreak in a South African mine, following the relaxation of COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, September – December 2021Fiona Els0Mariana Khoza1Inge Kleinhans2Hetani Mdose3Sibongile Walaza4Cheryl Cohen5Anne von Gottberg6Fahima Moosa7Mignon du Plessis8Nicole Wolter9Chijioke Nkemjika Umunnakwe10Zinhle Makatini11Genevie Ntshoe12Andronica Moipone Shonhiwa13Nevashan Govender14Hugo Tempelman15Lourens Duvenhage16Charles Mandivenyi17 Marlence Freda Ngobeni18Jackie Kleynhans19Centre for Respiratory Diseases and Meningitis, National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) of the National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS), Johannesburg, South Africa; South African Field Epidemiology Training Programme (SAFETP), Division of Public Health Surveillance and Response (DPHSR), NICD of the NHLS, Johannesburg, South Africa; School of Health Systems and Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South AfricaOutbreak Response Unit (ORU), DPHSR, NICD of the NHLS, Johannesburg, South Africa; Department of Community Health, School of Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South AfricaOutbreak Response Unit (ORU), DPHSR, NICD of the NHLS, Johannesburg, South Africa; Department of Community Health, School of Medicine, Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University, Pretoria, South Africa South African Field Epidemiology Training Programme (SAFETP), Division of Public Health Surveillance and Response (DPHSR), NICD of the NHLS, Johannesburg, South AfricaCentre for Respiratory Diseases and Meningitis, National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) of the National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS), Johannesburg, South Africa; School of Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South AfricaCentre for Respiratory Diseases and Meningitis, National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) of the National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS), Johannesburg, South Africa; School of Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South AfricaCentre for Respiratory Diseases and Meningitis, National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) of the National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS), Johannesburg, South Africa;School of Pathology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg Centre for Respiratory Diseases and Meningitis, National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) of the National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS), Johannesburg, South Africa;School of Pathology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg Centre for Respiratory Diseases and Meningitis, National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) of the National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS), Johannesburg, South Africa;School of Pathology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg Centre for Respiratory Diseases and Meningitis, National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) of the National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS), Johannesburg, South Africa;School of Pathology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg Ndlovu Research Centre, Ndlovu Laboratories, Dennilton, Limpopo, South AfricaNational Health Laboratory Service, Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital; Ndlovu Department of Virology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Witwatersrand, South AfricaSchool of Health Systems and Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa; Outbreak Response Unit (ORU), DPHSR, NICD of the NHLS, Johannesburg, South AfricaOutbreak Response Unit (ORU), DPHSR, NICD of the NHLS, Johannesburg, South AfricaOutbreak Response Unit (ORU), DPHSR, NICD of the NHLS, Johannesburg, South AfricaNdlovu Research Centre, Ndlovu Laboratories, Dennilton, Limpopo, South Africa; Department of Community Health, School of Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa; University of Utrecht, NetherlandsNdlovu Research Centre, Ndlovu Laboratories, Dennilton, Limpopo, South AfricaWorld Health Organization, Pretoria, South Africa; Limpopo Department of Health, Polokwane, South AfricaLimpopo Department of Health, Polokwane, South AfricaCentre for Respiratory Diseases and Meningitis, National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) of the National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS), Johannesburg, South Africa; School of Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South AfricaIntroduction: In November 2021, two months after lifting COVID-19 restrictions, a cluster of laboratory-confirmed influenza cases was detected outside of the normal influenza season at a mine in South Africa. We aimed to determine factors associated with influenza infection. Methods: A suspected influenza case was an employee presenting with acute onset of ≥1 symptom (fever, cough, rhinorrhoea, sore throat, shortness of breath, loss of smell or taste, myalgia, diarrhoea, nausea, vomiting) or any employee returning from leave or newly recruited. A confirmed influenza case was any person with laboratory-confirmed influenza. We calculated the influenza attack rate among 10 030 mine employees and assessed factors associated with influenza infection from 1 September–13 December 2021 using logistic regression. Results: There were 3,534 suspected influenza cases of which 161 tested influenza positive (influenza attack rate 1.6%, 161/10 030). Of the suspected influenza cases, 82% (2,886/3,534) were male and the mean age was 40-years. Among the confirmed cases, 87% (140/161) were male and the mean age was 39-years (IQR:31-45). Factors associated with laboratory-confirmed influenza were age 18-35-years (aOR 2.09; 95%CI 1.21-3.60) or 36-49 years (aOR 1.68, 95% CI: 1.02-2.79) vs. ≥50 years and working as an operator (aOR 3.47; 95%CI 1.23-9.75) or in engineering (aOR 3.20; 95%CI 1.03-9.98) vs. in the office. Of the 118 samples that were subtyped, 88 (74.6%) were influenza A(H1N1)pdm09. Conclusion: Out-of-season influenza outbreaks can occur in semi-closed communities. Influenza vaccines could help reduce illness and work absenteeism. Immediate recommendations included isolation of infected individuals and more personalized education to increase adherence to non-pharmaceutical interventionshttps://www.afenet-journal.net/content/article/7/40/full/influenzaminerespiratory diseasesouth africaoutbreakrisk factors |
| spellingShingle | Fiona Els Mariana Khoza Inge Kleinhans Hetani Mdose Sibongile Walaza Cheryl Cohen Anne von Gottberg Fahima Moosa Mignon du Plessis Nicole Wolter Chijioke Nkemjika Umunnakwe Zinhle Makatini Genevie Ntshoe Andronica Moipone Shonhiwa Nevashan Govender Hugo Tempelman Lourens Duvenhage Charles Mandivenyi Marlence Freda Ngobeni Jackie Kleynhans An influenza outbreak in a South African mine, following the relaxation of COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, September – December 2021 Journal of Interventional Epidemiology and Public Health influenza mine respiratory disease south africa outbreak risk factors |
| title | An influenza outbreak in a South African mine, following the relaxation of COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, September – December 2021 |
| title_full | An influenza outbreak in a South African mine, following the relaxation of COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, September – December 2021 |
| title_fullStr | An influenza outbreak in a South African mine, following the relaxation of COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, September – December 2021 |
| title_full_unstemmed | An influenza outbreak in a South African mine, following the relaxation of COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, September – December 2021 |
| title_short | An influenza outbreak in a South African mine, following the relaxation of COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, September – December 2021 |
| title_sort | influenza outbreak in a south african mine following the relaxation of covid 19 pandemic restrictions september december 2021 |
| topic | influenza mine respiratory disease south africa outbreak risk factors |
| url | https://www.afenet-journal.net/content/article/7/40/full/ |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT fionaels aninfluenzaoutbreakinasouthafricanminefollowingtherelaxationofcovid19pandemicrestrictionsseptemberdecember2021 AT marianakhoza aninfluenzaoutbreakinasouthafricanminefollowingtherelaxationofcovid19pandemicrestrictionsseptemberdecember2021 AT ingekleinhans aninfluenzaoutbreakinasouthafricanminefollowingtherelaxationofcovid19pandemicrestrictionsseptemberdecember2021 AT hetanimdose aninfluenzaoutbreakinasouthafricanminefollowingtherelaxationofcovid19pandemicrestrictionsseptemberdecember2021 AT sibongilewalaza aninfluenzaoutbreakinasouthafricanminefollowingtherelaxationofcovid19pandemicrestrictionsseptemberdecember2021 AT cherylcohen aninfluenzaoutbreakinasouthafricanminefollowingtherelaxationofcovid19pandemicrestrictionsseptemberdecember2021 AT annevongottberg aninfluenzaoutbreakinasouthafricanminefollowingtherelaxationofcovid19pandemicrestrictionsseptemberdecember2021 AT fahimamoosa aninfluenzaoutbreakinasouthafricanminefollowingtherelaxationofcovid19pandemicrestrictionsseptemberdecember2021 AT mignonduplessis aninfluenzaoutbreakinasouthafricanminefollowingtherelaxationofcovid19pandemicrestrictionsseptemberdecember2021 AT nicolewolter aninfluenzaoutbreakinasouthafricanminefollowingtherelaxationofcovid19pandemicrestrictionsseptemberdecember2021 AT chijiokenkemjikaumunnakwe aninfluenzaoutbreakinasouthafricanminefollowingtherelaxationofcovid19pandemicrestrictionsseptemberdecember2021 AT zinhlemakatini aninfluenzaoutbreakinasouthafricanminefollowingtherelaxationofcovid19pandemicrestrictionsseptemberdecember2021 AT genevientshoe aninfluenzaoutbreakinasouthafricanminefollowingtherelaxationofcovid19pandemicrestrictionsseptemberdecember2021 AT andronicamoiponeshonhiwa aninfluenzaoutbreakinasouthafricanminefollowingtherelaxationofcovid19pandemicrestrictionsseptemberdecember2021 AT nevashangovender aninfluenzaoutbreakinasouthafricanminefollowingtherelaxationofcovid19pandemicrestrictionsseptemberdecember2021 AT hugotempelman aninfluenzaoutbreakinasouthafricanminefollowingtherelaxationofcovid19pandemicrestrictionsseptemberdecember2021 AT lourensduvenhage aninfluenzaoutbreakinasouthafricanminefollowingtherelaxationofcovid19pandemicrestrictionsseptemberdecember2021 AT charlesmandivenyi aninfluenzaoutbreakinasouthafricanminefollowingtherelaxationofcovid19pandemicrestrictionsseptemberdecember2021 AT marlencefredangobeni aninfluenzaoutbreakinasouthafricanminefollowingtherelaxationofcovid19pandemicrestrictionsseptemberdecember2021 AT jackiekleynhans aninfluenzaoutbreakinasouthafricanminefollowingtherelaxationofcovid19pandemicrestrictionsseptemberdecember2021 AT fionaels influenzaoutbreakinasouthafricanminefollowingtherelaxationofcovid19pandemicrestrictionsseptemberdecember2021 AT marianakhoza influenzaoutbreakinasouthafricanminefollowingtherelaxationofcovid19pandemicrestrictionsseptemberdecember2021 AT ingekleinhans influenzaoutbreakinasouthafricanminefollowingtherelaxationofcovid19pandemicrestrictionsseptemberdecember2021 AT hetanimdose influenzaoutbreakinasouthafricanminefollowingtherelaxationofcovid19pandemicrestrictionsseptemberdecember2021 AT sibongilewalaza influenzaoutbreakinasouthafricanminefollowingtherelaxationofcovid19pandemicrestrictionsseptemberdecember2021 AT cherylcohen influenzaoutbreakinasouthafricanminefollowingtherelaxationofcovid19pandemicrestrictionsseptemberdecember2021 AT annevongottberg influenzaoutbreakinasouthafricanminefollowingtherelaxationofcovid19pandemicrestrictionsseptemberdecember2021 AT fahimamoosa influenzaoutbreakinasouthafricanminefollowingtherelaxationofcovid19pandemicrestrictionsseptemberdecember2021 AT mignonduplessis influenzaoutbreakinasouthafricanminefollowingtherelaxationofcovid19pandemicrestrictionsseptemberdecember2021 AT nicolewolter influenzaoutbreakinasouthafricanminefollowingtherelaxationofcovid19pandemicrestrictionsseptemberdecember2021 AT chijiokenkemjikaumunnakwe influenzaoutbreakinasouthafricanminefollowingtherelaxationofcovid19pandemicrestrictionsseptemberdecember2021 AT zinhlemakatini influenzaoutbreakinasouthafricanminefollowingtherelaxationofcovid19pandemicrestrictionsseptemberdecember2021 AT genevientshoe influenzaoutbreakinasouthafricanminefollowingtherelaxationofcovid19pandemicrestrictionsseptemberdecember2021 AT andronicamoiponeshonhiwa influenzaoutbreakinasouthafricanminefollowingtherelaxationofcovid19pandemicrestrictionsseptemberdecember2021 AT nevashangovender influenzaoutbreakinasouthafricanminefollowingtherelaxationofcovid19pandemicrestrictionsseptemberdecember2021 AT hugotempelman influenzaoutbreakinasouthafricanminefollowingtherelaxationofcovid19pandemicrestrictionsseptemberdecember2021 AT lourensduvenhage influenzaoutbreakinasouthafricanminefollowingtherelaxationofcovid19pandemicrestrictionsseptemberdecember2021 AT charlesmandivenyi influenzaoutbreakinasouthafricanminefollowingtherelaxationofcovid19pandemicrestrictionsseptemberdecember2021 AT marlencefredangobeni influenzaoutbreakinasouthafricanminefollowingtherelaxationofcovid19pandemicrestrictionsseptemberdecember2021 AT jackiekleynhans influenzaoutbreakinasouthafricanminefollowingtherelaxationofcovid19pandemicrestrictionsseptemberdecember2021 |