COVID-19 Is Not the Flu: Four Graphs From Four Countries
Background: COVID-19 has caused a global public health emergency. Government mitigation strategies included a series of behavior-based prevention policies that had a likely impact on the spread of other contagious respiratory illnesses, such as seasonal influenza. Our aim was to explore how 2019–202...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2021-03-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Public Health |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2021.628479/full |
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| author | Jovana Stojanovic Jovana Stojanovic Vincent G. Boucher Vincent G. Boucher Jacqueline Boyle Jacqueline Boyle Joanne Enticott Joanne Enticott Kim L. Lavoie Kim L. Lavoie Simon L. Bacon Simon L. Bacon |
| author_facet | Jovana Stojanovic Jovana Stojanovic Vincent G. Boucher Vincent G. Boucher Jacqueline Boyle Jacqueline Boyle Joanne Enticott Joanne Enticott Kim L. Lavoie Kim L. Lavoie Simon L. Bacon Simon L. Bacon |
| author_sort | Jovana Stojanovic |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: COVID-19 has caused a global public health emergency. Government mitigation strategies included a series of behavior-based prevention policies that had a likely impact on the spread of other contagious respiratory illnesses, such as seasonal influenza. Our aim was to explore how 2019–2020 influenza tracked onto COVID-19 pandemic and its mitigation methods.Materials and Methods: We linked the WHO FluNet database and COVID-19 confirmed cases (Johns Hopkins University) for four countries across the northern (Canada, the United States) and southern hemispheres (Australia, Brazil) for the period 2016–2020. Graphical presentations of longitudinal data were provided.Results: There was a notable reduction in influenza cases for the 2019–2020 season. Northern hemisphere countries experienced a quicker ending to the 2019–2020 seasonal influenza cases (shortened by 4–7 weeks) and virtually no 2020 fall influenza season. Countries from the southern hemisphere experienced drastically low levels of seasonal influenza, with consistent trends that were approaching zero cases after the introduction of COVID-19 measures.Conclusions: It is likely that the COVID-19 mitigation measures played a notable role in the marked decrease in influenza, with little to no influenza activity in both the northern and southern hemispheres. In spite of this reduction in influenza cases, there was still community spread of COVID-19, highlighting the contagiousness of SARS-CoV-2 compared to influenza. These results, together with the higher mortality rate from SARS-CoV-2 compared to influenza, highlight that COVID-19 is a far greater health threat than influenza. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-20T09:13:08Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-03d0fdde8b534186a3f8f14a194e2dbc |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2296-2565 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-20T09:13:08Z |
| publishDate | 2021-03-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Public Health |
| spelling | doaj.art-03d0fdde8b534186a3f8f14a194e2dbc2022-12-21T19:45:30ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Public Health2296-25652021-03-01910.3389/fpubh.2021.628479628479COVID-19 Is Not the Flu: Four Graphs From Four CountriesJovana Stojanovic0Jovana Stojanovic1Vincent G. Boucher2Vincent G. Boucher3Jacqueline Boyle4Jacqueline Boyle5Joanne Enticott6Joanne Enticott7Kim L. Lavoie8Kim L. Lavoie9Simon L. Bacon10Simon L. Bacon11Montreal Behavioral Medicine Centre, Centre integrée universitaire de santé et services sociaux du Nord de l'Ile de Montréal (CIUSSS-NIM), Montreal, QC, CanadaDepartment of Health, Kinesiology, and Applied Physiology, Concordia University, Montreal, QC, CanadaMontreal Behavioral Medicine Centre, Centre integrée universitaire de santé et services sociaux du Nord de l'Ile de Montréal (CIUSSS-NIM), Montreal, QC, CanadaDepartment of Psychology, University of Quebec at Montreal, Montreal, QC, CanadaMonash Centre for Health Research and Implementation, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, AustraliaSchool of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, AustraliaMonash Centre for Health Research and Implementation, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, AustraliaMonash Partners Academic Health Science Centre, Clayton, VIC, AustraliaMontreal Behavioral Medicine Centre, Centre integrée universitaire de santé et services sociaux du Nord de l'Ile de Montréal (CIUSSS-NIM), Montreal, QC, CanadaDepartment of Psychology, University of Quebec at Montreal, Montreal, QC, CanadaMontreal Behavioral Medicine Centre, Centre integrée universitaire de santé et services sociaux du Nord de l'Ile de Montréal (CIUSSS-NIM), Montreal, QC, CanadaDepartment of Health, Kinesiology, and Applied Physiology, Concordia University, Montreal, QC, CanadaBackground: COVID-19 has caused a global public health emergency. Government mitigation strategies included a series of behavior-based prevention policies that had a likely impact on the spread of other contagious respiratory illnesses, such as seasonal influenza. Our aim was to explore how 2019–2020 influenza tracked onto COVID-19 pandemic and its mitigation methods.Materials and Methods: We linked the WHO FluNet database and COVID-19 confirmed cases (Johns Hopkins University) for four countries across the northern (Canada, the United States) and southern hemispheres (Australia, Brazil) for the period 2016–2020. Graphical presentations of longitudinal data were provided.Results: There was a notable reduction in influenza cases for the 2019–2020 season. Northern hemisphere countries experienced a quicker ending to the 2019–2020 seasonal influenza cases (shortened by 4–7 weeks) and virtually no 2020 fall influenza season. Countries from the southern hemisphere experienced drastically low levels of seasonal influenza, with consistent trends that were approaching zero cases after the introduction of COVID-19 measures.Conclusions: It is likely that the COVID-19 mitigation measures played a notable role in the marked decrease in influenza, with little to no influenza activity in both the northern and southern hemispheres. In spite of this reduction in influenza cases, there was still community spread of COVID-19, highlighting the contagiousness of SARS-CoV-2 compared to influenza. These results, together with the higher mortality rate from SARS-CoV-2 compared to influenza, highlight that COVID-19 is a far greater health threat than influenza.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2021.628479/fullCOVID-19influenzatransmissionepidemiologybehavior-based policybehavior change |
| spellingShingle | Jovana Stojanovic Jovana Stojanovic Vincent G. Boucher Vincent G. Boucher Jacqueline Boyle Jacqueline Boyle Joanne Enticott Joanne Enticott Kim L. Lavoie Kim L. Lavoie Simon L. Bacon Simon L. Bacon COVID-19 Is Not the Flu: Four Graphs From Four Countries Frontiers in Public Health COVID-19 influenza transmission epidemiology behavior-based policy behavior change |
| title | COVID-19 Is Not the Flu: Four Graphs From Four Countries |
| title_full | COVID-19 Is Not the Flu: Four Graphs From Four Countries |
| title_fullStr | COVID-19 Is Not the Flu: Four Graphs From Four Countries |
| title_full_unstemmed | COVID-19 Is Not the Flu: Four Graphs From Four Countries |
| title_short | COVID-19 Is Not the Flu: Four Graphs From Four Countries |
| title_sort | covid 19 is not the flu four graphs from four countries |
| topic | COVID-19 influenza transmission epidemiology behavior-based policy behavior change |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2021.628479/full |
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