Burden of Influenza in Romania. A Retrospective Analysis of 2014/15–2018/19 Seasons in Romania

Introduction: Influenza is a seasonal epidemic with a heavy negative impact both on population health, and healthcare system utilization; until now, there are only two burden of disease studies in the Romanian context. This study aims to quantify the burden of influenza for the Romanian population for the seasons 2014/15 to 2018/19, using health administrative databases. Methods: Incidence, hospitalization and mortality rates attributable to influenza as well as total number of influenza cases and deaths were estimated, for each season in the analyzed period, by combining the new cases reported by General Practitioners, Emergency Department presentations, hospitalizations, number of deaths, positivity rate of influenza, and probability to be consulted by a physician. Years of life lost due to premature death attributable to influenza complications were also computed. Results: On average, 591,151 cases/season attributable to influenza were estimated during the period 2014/15–2018/19. The highest rates for incidence, hospitalization and presentation to emergency department were found in the age groups 0–4 years and 65 years and above. Influenza mortality rate was estimated at 3 per 100,000 persons and the 65 and above age group had the highest rate. Conclusions: About 3% of the total Romanian population is estimated to develop an influenza attributable disease in a non-pandemic season. An overall increasing trend of the mortality rate attributable to influenza may be also underlined. On average, a person loses 12 years due to premature death caused by complications of influenza.