Where has all the influenza gone? The impact of COVID-19 on the circulation of influenza and other respiratory viruses, Australia, March to September 2020
Eurosurveillance·
- DOI
- 10.2807/1560-7917.es.2020.25.47.2001847
- PMID
- 33243355
- PMCID
- PMC7693168
- OpenAlex
- W3107105670
- Study type
- Journal article
- Publisher
- European Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (ECDC)
- Article type
- journal-article
- Integrity
- current
Why this research matters now
The findings suggest that movement restrictions within and into Australia may have temporarily eliminated influenza circulation, demonstrating the broader impact of COVID-19 control measures on respiratory disease epidemiology.
Structured evidence summary
Research question
The study examined the impact of COVID-19 pandemic measures on the circulation of influenza and other respiratory viruses in Australia during the March to September 2020 period.
Study design
The study compared influenza notifications during March to September 2020 with the average for the same period in 2015-2019, and examined activity of other respiratory pathogens.
Population and setting
The study was conducted in Australia during March to September 2020, as the southern hemisphere's winter season approached and progressed.
Main findings
Influenza notifications dropped dramatically to 7,029 cases in March-September 2020 compared to an average of 149,832 for the same period in 2015-2019, despite substantial testing. Other respiratory pathogens also showed remarkably changed activity in 2020.
Public-health relevance
The findings suggest that movement restrictions within and into Australia may have temporarily eliminated influenza circulation, demonstrating the broader impact of COVID-19 control measures on respiratory disease epidemiology.
Important limitations
This summary is limited to the supplied single-article abstract and metadata. The original paper is required for decision-grade interpretation, including details on testing methods, case definitions, surveillance system changes, and alternative explanations for reduced notifications.
GIDS interpretation
The article was indexed with disease classifiers for SARS, COVID-19, and Influenza, and topic classifiers for outbreak investigation, surveillance, and travel medicine, reflecting its focus on respiratory pathogen circulation changes during pandemic restrictions.
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 11 auditable classifier relationships to diseases, places, topics, and study design.