Seasonal influenza surveillance and vaccination policies in the WHO South-East Asian Region
BMJ Global Health·
- DOI
- 10.1136/bmjgh-2024-017271
- PMID
- 39939109
- PMCID
- PMC11822389
- OpenAlex
- —
- Study type
- Journal article
- Publisher
- BMJ
- Article type
- journal-article
- Integrity
- current
Why this research matters now
The region's high population density and role as a potential epicenter for future influenza pandemics makes comprehensive vaccination and surveillance policies critical for pandemic preparedness. Low vaccine uptake and limited surveillance data hinder effective public health responses across most SEAR countries.
Structured evidence summary
Research question
The review examined seasonal influenza vaccination policies and surveillance systems across the 11 WHO South-East Asia Region member states.
Study design
This is a review that analyzed WHO National Influenza Programme factsheets from SEAR member states as of October 2022, supplemented by manual literature searches of electronic databases and government websites.
Population and setting
The study covers the 11 member states of the WHO South-East Asia Region, a densely populated area recognized as a critical reservoir for novel influenza strains.
Main findings
As of October 2022, only three SEAR countries had seasonal influenza vaccination policies: India, Bhutan, and Thailand, with Bhutan and Thailand covering all five WHO-recommended high-risk groups. National influenza surveillance systems exist across SEAR, but only India and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea report full population coverage. Vaccine production capacity is limited to Bangladesh, India, and Indonesia.
Public-health relevance
The region's high population density and role as a potential epicenter for future influenza pandemics makes comprehensive vaccination and surveillance policies critical for pandemic preparedness. Low vaccine uptake and limited surveillance data hinder effective public health responses across most SEAR countries.
Important limitations
This summary relies on the supplied single-article abstract and metadata. The region's varied climatic conditions and insufficient local data have obscured the true burden of influenza. Full interpretation requires access to the original paper.
GIDS interpretation
This review provides regional policy and surveillance context for influenza in SEAR countries. It characterizes the current state of vaccination programs and surveillance infrastructure, which may inform interpretation of influenza activity patterns detected through global surveillance systems.
Related GIDS surveillance
Literature context does not validate, explain, or change a surveillance signal. Exact and contextual relationships are shown separately.
Evidence relationships
This article has 6 auditable classifier relationships to diseases, places, topics, and study design.