Respiratory viruses cause substantial morbidity and costly resource utilization among young children, especially during the winter months. Accurate estimates of the impact of these viruses are important in guiding prevention efforts and measuring the impact of public health interventions. Previous studies have focused on the rate of hospitalizations resulting from viral infections, particularly those attributable to influenza virus for which a vaccine is available, but have not included healthcare use in the emergency department (ED) nor considered the impact of other viruses such as respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), for which limited preventative methods are available. We used ED surveillance data for acute respiratory infection to measure the population-based impact of specific viruses.
Objective
To use surveillance data to estimate resource utilization and parental lost productivity associated with influenza and RSV infections among young children.