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Genomic surveillance is an essential part of effective disease control, enabling identification of emerging and expanding strains and monitoring of subsequent interventions. Whole-genome sequencing was used to analyze the genomic diversity of all Neisseria meningitidis isolates submitted to the New Zealand Meningococcal Reference Laboratory during 2013-2018. Of the 347 isolates submitted for whole-genome sequencing, we identified 68 sequence types belonging to 18 clonal complexes (CC). The predominant CC was CC41/44; next in predominance was CC11. Comparison of the 45 New Zealand group W CC11 isolates with worldwide representatives of group W CC11 isolates revealed that the original UK strain, the 2013 UK strain, and a distinctive variant (the 2015 strain) were causing invasive group W meningococcal disease in New Zealand. The 2015 strain also demonstrated increased resistance to penicillin and has been circulating in Canada and several countries in Europe, highlighting that close monitoring is needed to prevent future outbreaks around the world.

How a history of influenza virus infections contributes to protection is not fully understood, but such protection might explain the contrasting age distributions of cases of the two lineages of influenza B, B/Victoria and B/Yamagata. Fitting a statistical model to those distributions using surveillance data from New Zealand, we found they could be explained by historical changes in lineage frequencies combined with cross-protection between strains of the same lineage. We found additional protection against B/Yamagata in people for whom it was their first influenza B infection, similar to the immune imprinting observed in influenza A. While the data were not informative about B/Victoria imprinting, B/Yamagata imprinting could explain the fewer B/Yamagata than B/Victoria cases in cohorts born in the 1990s and the bimodal age distribution of B/Yamagata cases. Longitudinal studies can test if these forms of protection inferred from historical data extend to more recent strains and other populations., The earliest infections with influenza A shape the immune responses to future infections, but it is not known if this phenomenon applies to influenza B. Here, the authors use influenza B case data from New Zealand and find evidence for both lineage-specific and imprinting protection.

Stringent nonpharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) such as lockdowns and border closures are not currently recommended for pandemic influenza control. New Zealand used these NPIs to eliminate coronavirus disease 2019 during its first wave. Using multiple surveillance systems, we observed a parallel and unprecedented reduction of influenza and other respiratory viral infections in 2020. This finding supports the use of these NPIs for controlling pandemic influenza and other severe respiratory viral threats., New Zealand has been relatively successful in controlling COVID-19 due to implementation of strict non-pharmaceutical interventions. Here, the authors demonstrate a striking decline in reports of influenza and other non-influenza respiratory pathogens over winter months in which the interventions have been in place.

The database of the Global Influenza B Study was created by collecting surveillance datasets from each of the participating countries. These national datasets are owned by the participating countries, and thus cannot be shared publicly. Researchers interested in obtaining the country-specific datasets may contact the individuals listed below for further details regarding data access.Argentina (Santa Fe Province): Gabriela Kusznierz (labconi@yahoo.com.ar)Australia: Kate Pennington (kate.pennington@health.gov.au)Bhutan: Sonam Wangchuk (swangchuk@health.gov.bt)Brazil: Cláudio Maierovitch Pessanha Henriques (claudio.henriques@saude.gov.br)Cameroon: Guy Vernet (vernet@pasteur-yaounde.org)Chile: Rodrigo Fasce (rfasce@ispch.cl)China: Feng Luzhao (fenglz@chinacdc.cn)Costa Rica: Alexey W. Clara (wclara@cdc.gov)Ecuador: Alfredo Bruno (alfredobruno@yahoo.es)El Salvador: Alexey W. Clara (wclara@cdc.gov)England: Maria Zambon (maria.zambon@phe.gov.uk)Guatemala: Alexey W. Clara (wclara@cdc.gov)Honduras: Alexey W. Clara (wclara@cdc.gov)Indonesia: Herman Kosasih (hermaninarespond@gmail.com)Italy: Caterina Rizzo (caterina.rizzo@iss.it)Ivory Coast: Herve A. Kadjo (hervekadjo@pasteur.ci)Kazakhstan: Gulzhan Muratbayeva (hnv2@cdc.gov)Kenya: Joshua Mott (zud9@cdc.gov)Madagascar: Jean-Michel Heraud (jmheraud@pasteur.mg)Morocco: Amal Barakat (amal.barakat@yahoo.fr)New Zealand: Sue Huang (sue.huang@esr.cri.nz)Nicaragua: Alexey W. Clara (wclara@cdc.gov)Panama: Alexey W. Clara (wclara@cdc.gov)Portugal: Ana Paula Rodrigues (ana.rodrigues@insa.min-saude.pt)Singapore: Vernon Lee (vernonljm@hotmail.com)South Africa: Cheryl Cohen (cherylc@nicd.ac.za)Turkey: Meral Akcay Ciblak (ciblakm@yahoo.com)Ukraine: Alla Mironenko (miralla@ukr.net)Viet Nam: Le Thi Quinh Mai (lom9@hotmail.com); International audience; BACKGROUND:Influenza disease burden varies by age and this has important public health implications. We compared the proportional distribution of different influenza virus types within age strata using surveillance data from twenty-nine countries during 1999-2014 (N=358,796 influenza cases).METHODS:For each virus, we calculated a Relative Illness Ratio (defined as the ratio of the percentage of cases in an age group to the percentage of the country population in the same age group) for young children (0-4 years), older children (5-17 years), young adults (18-39 years), older adults (40-64 years), and the elderly (65+ years). We used random-effects meta-analysis models to obtain summary relative illness ratios (sRIRs), and conducted meta-regression and sub-group analyses to explore causes of between-estimates heterogeneity.RESULTS:The influenza virus with highest sRIR was A(H1N1) for young children, B for older children, A(H1N1)pdm2009 for adults, and (A(H3N2) for the elderly. As expected, considering the diverse nature of the national surveillance datasets included in our analysis, between-estimates heterogeneity was high (I2>90%) for most sRIRs. The variations of countries' geographic, demographic and economic characteristics and the proportion of outpatients among reported influenza cases explained only part of the heterogeneity, suggesting that multiple factors were at play.CONCLUSIONS:These results highlight the importance of presenting burden of disease estimates by age group and virus (sub)type.

We compared 2019 influenza seasonality and vaccine effectiveness (VE) in four southern hemisphere countries: Australia, Chile, New Zealand and South Africa. Influenza seasons differed in timing, duration, intensity and predominant circulating viruses. VE estimates were also heterogeneous, with all-ages point estimates ranging from 7–70% (I2: 33%) for A(H1N1)pdm09, 4–57% (I2: 49%) for A(H3N2) and 29–66% (I2: 0%) for B. Caution should be applied when attempting to use southern hemisphere data to predict the northern hemisphere influenza season.

SummaryBackground: Electronic reporting of Influenza-like illness (eILI) from primary care was implemented and evaluated in three general medical practices in New Zealand during May to September 2015.Objective: To measure the uptake of eILI and to identify the system’s strength and limitations. Methods: Analysis of transactional data from the eILI system; comparative study of influenza-like illness cases reported using manual methods and eILI; questionnaire administered to clinical and operational stakeholders.Results: Over the study period 66% of total ILI cases were reported using eILI. Reporting timeliness improved significantly compared to manual reporting with an average of 24 minutes from submission by the clinician to processing in the national database. Users found the system to be user-friendly.Conclusion: eILI assists clinicians to report ILI cases to public health authorities within a stipulated time period and is associated with faster, more reliable and improved information transfer.

Erratum in - Correction: Temporal Patterns of Influenza A and B in Tropical and Temperate Countries: What Are the Lessons for Influenza Vaccination? PLoS One. 2016 May 2;11(5):e0155089. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0155089. Introduction: Determining the optimal time to vaccinate is important for influenza vaccination programmes. Here, we assessed the temporal characteristics of influenza epidemics in the Northern and Southern hemispheres and in the tropics, and discuss their implications for vaccination programmes. Methods: This was a retrospective analysis of surveillance data between 2000 and 2014 from the Global Influenza B Study database. The seasonal peak of influenza was defined as the week with the most reported cases (overall, A, and B) in the season. The duration of seasonal activity was assessed using the maximum proportion of influenza cases during three consecutive months and the minimum number of months with 80% of cases in the season. We also assessed whether co-circulation of A and B virus types affected the duration of influenza epidemics. Results: 212 influenza seasons and 571,907 cases were included from 30 countries. In tropical countries, the seasonal influenza activity lasted longer and the peaks of influenza A and B coincided less frequently than in temperate countries. Temporal characteristics of influenza epidemics were heterogeneous in the tropics, with distinct seasonal epidemics observed only in some countries. Seasons with co-circulation of influenza A and B were longer than influenza A seasons, especially in the tropics. Discussion: Our findings show that influenza seasonality is less well defined in the tropics than in temperate regions. This has important implications for vaccination programmes in these countries. High-quality influenza surveillance systems are needed in the tropics to enable decisions about when to vaccinate. The Global Influenza B Study is supported by an unrestricted research grant from Sanofi Pasteur. info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

Please cite this paper as: Van Kerkhove et al. (2011) Epidemiologic and virologic assessment of the 2009 influenza A (H1N1) pandemic on selected temperate countries in the Southern Hemisphere: Argentina, Australia, Chile, New Zealand and South Africa. Influenza and Other Respiratory Viruses 5(6), e487–e498. Introduction and Setting Our analysis compares the most comprehensive epidemiologic and virologic surveillance data compiled to date for laboratory-confirmed H1N1pdm patients between 1 April 2009 - 31 January 2010 from five temperate countries in the Southern Hemisphere–Argentina, Australia, Chile, New Zealand, and South Africa. Objective We evaluate transmission dynamics, indicators of severity, and describe the co-circulation of H1N1pdm with seasonal influenza viruses. Results In the five countries, H1N1pdm became the predominant influenza strain within weeks of initial detection. South Africa was unique, first experiencing a seasonal H3N2 wave, followed by a distinct H1N1pdm wave. Compared with the 2007 and 2008 influenza seasons, the peak of influenza-like illness (ILI) activity in four of the five countries was 3-6 times higher with peak ILI consultation rates ranging from 35/1,000 consultations/week in Australia to 275/100,000 population/week in New Zealand. Transmission was similar in all countries with the reproductive rate ranging from 1.2–1.6. The median age of patients in all countries increased with increasing severity of disease, 4–14% of all hospitalized cases required critical care, and 26–68% of fatal patients were reported to have ≥1 chronic medical condition. Compared with seasonal influenza, there was a notable downward shift in age among severe cases with the highest population-based hospitalization rates among children

Background A number of changes in the management of heart transplantation (HT) patients have each tended to reduce the risk of post-HT hematologic cancer, but little information is available concerning the overall effect on incidence in the HT population. Methods Comparison of data from the Spanish Post-Heart-Transplantation Tumour Registry for the periods 1991–2000 and 2001–2010. Results The incidence among patients who underwent HT in the latter period was about half that observed in the former, with a particularly marked improvement in regard to incidence more than five yr post-HT. Conclusions Changes in HT patient management have jointly reduced the risk of hematologic cancer in the Spanish HT population. Long-term risk appears to have benefited more than short-term risk.

The deactivation-regeneration modes of RbO x /SiO 2 catalyst for the synthesis of α-methylene-γ-valerolactone (MeMBL) from γ-valerolactone (GVL) and formaldehyde (HCHO) mixtures were studied with a novel microbalance reactor, the TEOM ® (Tapered Element Oscillating Microbalance). An ethanolic solution of GVL and HCHO was fed after vaporization to the microbalance reactor packed with catalyst and operated at 340 °C. The catalyst mass change was monitored continuously during reaction and regeneration steps. It was observed that within the first 60 s of reaction the mass gain was very rapid, this phase was followed by a slower mass gain with constant rate up to 10 h time on stream (TOS). Conversion decreased slowly as determined by mass spectroscopy. Increasing the reaction temperature affected the slow mass gain regime, with higher mass gains observed at higher temperatures. Higher conversion was achieved at higher temperatures, but at a cost in MeMBL selectivity (>90% selectivity at 340 °C versus 20% at 400 °C). Studies of catalyst regeneration in air at different temperatures led to the conclusion that there are two types of deposits on the catalyst surface: (i) organic deposits loosely bound to the surface that burn-off at low temperature (340 °C) and (ii) coke with low H/C ratio that burns-off at higher temperature (450 °C). XPS measurements of fresh and deactivated catalysts indicated that the species causing deactivation are mainly located on the silica support. Partial removal of deposited material in air at 340 °C was found to restore a significant fraction of the catalyst activity while greatly reducing the unproductive loss of reactants due to rapid deposition on the catalyst when the reactant feed was resumed. Thus cyclic operation involving reaction followed by a short regeneration step (∼1 min for 1 h reaction) may be preferable, as the penalty in activity for partial versus complete regeneration is small, and there is no significant loss in MeMBL selectivity.

The technology for carbon dioxide sequestration has gained wider interest in recent years. This study estimates the carbon dioxide sequestered and stored in the forest trees of Jose Rizal Memorial State University – Tampilisan Campus reservation. The study site contained the trees species Mohagany (Swietenia macrophylla), Gmelina (Gmelina arborea), Mangium (acacia magium) Rubber (Hevea brasilliensis) and natural forest trees (e.g. Dipterocarp species, etc). Results revealed that standard – sized trees have better CO 2 sequestration potential than the sapling and pole – sized. These trees have the biggest merchantable height, trunk diameter and wood density. Among the species considered, Gmelina had the highest amount of CO 2 sequestered and stored in stem followed by Mangium, Rubber and Mahogany at standard size. In addition, regression analysis indicated that the rate of CO 2 sequestered and stored on trees are related to the growth characteristics as trunk diameter (DBH) and total height, but not with wood density. Moreover, the forest stand of JRMSU – Tampilisan Campus reservation has a total sequestration capacity of 88.17 kT CO 2.

This paper uses data from multiple surveillance systems to describe the experience in New Zealand with the second complete wave of pandemic influenza A(H1N1)2009 in 2010. Measures such as hospitalisation rates suggest the overall impact of influenza A(H1N1)2009 in 2010 was between half and two thirds that of the first wave in 2009. There was considerable regional and sub-regional variation with a tendency for higher activity in areas that experienced low rates in 2009. Demographic characteristics of the second wave were similar to those in 2009 with highest rates seen in children under the age of five years, and in indigenous M?ori and Pacific peoples. Hospital services including intensive care units were not under as much pressure as in 2009. Immunisation appears to have contributed to the reduced impact of the pandemic in 2010, particularly for those aged 60 years and older.

Background The national influenza surveillance in New Zealand is an essential public health component for assessing and implementing strategies to control influenza. Objective The aim of this study is to report the national influenza surveillance data collected during 1997–2006 in terms of the community disease burden, circulating viral strains, hospitalisations, mortality, and immunisation coverage. Methods The national influenza surveillance system includes sentinel general practice surveillance, laboratory-based surveillance, and hospital admission and mortality surveillance and immunisation coverage. The results obtained during 1997–2006 were analysed. Results When the last 10 years were compared to the previous years, sentinel general practice surveillance recorded a decreasing trend of influenza-like illness rates in the community. Sentinel surveillance also showed that children aged 0–4 years were the most affected. Influenza-related hospitalisation surveillance reported an increasing trend of hospital admissions particularly in children aged 0–19 years. Introduction of routine influenza vaccination among the New Zealand elderly was associated with a significant decrease of influenza-related mortality. Conclusions This report demonstrates that an integrated virological and epidemiological surveillance system for influenza is essential for monitoring the disease burden, identifying circulating strains, guiding effective vaccination and planning for a potential pandemic.

We report the influenza activity in New Zealand in 2005 (including an influenza B epidemic) in terms of the disease burden, hospitalisations, viral strain characterisations, and vaccine recommendations.The national influenza surveillance system includes sentinel general practice surveillance, laboratory-based surveillance, and hospital admission and mortality surveillance. The results obtained in 2005 were analysed.During the 2005 winter season, 3929 consultations for influenza-like illness (ILI) were reported from a national sentinel network of 87 general practices. It is estimated that ILI resulting in a visit to a general practitioner affected over 47,108 New Zealanders or about 1.3% of total population. Influenza hospitalisations and viral isolations reached the second highest level in the 15 years from 1990 to 2005. Influenza morbidity (as measured by age specific rates of hospitalisations) was high in children aged 0-19 years. In particular, the burden of influenza in children aged 5-19 years in 2005 was higher than previous years from 1995-2004 as measured by the excess morbidity rate and viral isolations. The ILI consultation rates varied greatly among health districts with the highest rates being reported from the Eastern Bay of Plenty and Otago Health Districts. The influenza activity peaked in the mid of June to July with influenza B activity preceding influenza A activity. This influenza B activity was the highest level recorded over the last 15 years. Influenza B/HongKong/330/2001-like virus was the predominant strain. Significant antigenic drift was observed among the A/Wellington/1/2004 (H3N2)-like viruses and B/HongKong/330/2001-like viruses--resulting in an updated seasonal vaccine strain for 2006.The influenza surveillance in 2005 recorded the highest influenza B activity over the last 15 years with co-circulation of influenza B (Hong Kong) and B (Shanghai) strains in an epidemic. The peak of influenza B activity preceded the peak of influenza A activity with significant antigenic drift among the A/Wellington/1/2004 (H3N2)-like viruses and B/HongKong/330/2001-like viruses. Significant excess morbidity was observed in the 5 to 19 year age group in a highly variable geographical distribution across New Zealand. This confirms the value of the national influenza surveillance system as an essential public health component for monitoring the incidence and distribution of influenza and predominant strains in New Zealand.

One strain of Salmonella Brandenburg began causing large numbers of human infections in New Zealand in 1998. We investigated the emergence of this strain using combined notification and laboratory data on human and animal disease and a case-control study. S. Brandenburg infection in humans was characterized by spring peaks and high rates in the southern half of the South Island. This epidemic pattern followed very closely that seen in sheep. The case-control study found that infection was significantly associated with occupational contact with sheep and having a household member who had occupational contact with sheep, during the 3 days prior to illness or interview. We conclude that S. Brandenburg has become established as a zoonotic disease in New Zealand. Preventing infection requires control of the epidemic in sheep through vaccination, changes in farm management practices, and promotion of hand washing and other precautions to protect farmers and their families.

New Zealand has a large reservoir of Mycobacterium bovis infection in wild and farmed animals. This study aimed to assess the extent of human infection with this organism and the potential contribution of these animal sources. Combined epidemiological and laboratory investigation of human tuberculosis cases over the period 1995–2002 showed that M. bovis accounted for 2·7% (54/1997) of laboratory-confirmed human tuberculosis cases, a rate of 0·2/100000 population. M. bovis isolates from humans (23) were typed using restriction endonuclease analysis (REA) and compared with isolates from wild and domestic animals (2600). Fourteen (61%) of the human isolates had REA patterns that were identical to patterns for isolates from cattle, deer, possums, ferrets, pigs, and occasionally cats. These results suggest a low level of ongoing M. bovis transmission from animal reservoirs to humans in New Zealand.

Background Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) O157:H7 and related non-O157 STEC strains are enteric pathogens of public health concern worldwide, causing life-threatening diseases. Cattle are considered the principal hosts and have been shown to be a source of infection for both foodborne and environmental outbreaks in humans. The aims of this study were to investigate risk factors associated with sporadic STEC infections in humans in New Zealand and to provide epidemiological information about the source and exposure pathways. Methods During a national prospective case–control study from July 2011 to July 2012, any confirmed case of STEC infection notified to regional public health units, together with a random selection of controls intended to be representative of the national demography, were interviewed for risk factor evaluation. Isolates from each case were genotyped using pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and Shiga toxin-encoding bacteriophage insertion (SBI) typing. Results Questionnaire data from 113 eligible cases and 506 controls were analysed using multivariate logistic regression. Statistically significant animal and environmental risk factors for human STEC infections were identified, notably 'Cattle livestock present in meshblock’ (the smallest geographical unit) (odds ratio 1.89, 95% CI 1.04–3.42), 'Contact with animal manure’ (OR 2.09, 95% CI 1.12–3.90), and 'Contact with recreational waters’ (OR 2.95, 95% CI 1.30–6.70). No food-associated risk factors were identified as sources of STEC infection. E. coli O157:H7 caused 100/113 (88.5%) of clinical STEC infections in this study, and 97/100 isolates were available for molecular analysis. PFGE profiles of isolates revealed three distinctive clusters of genotypes, and these were strongly correlated with SBI type. The variable 'Island of residence’ (North or South Island of New Zealand) was significantly associated with PFGE genotype (p = 0.012). Conclusions Our findings implicate environmental and animal contact, but not food, as significant exposure pathways for sporadic STEC infections in humans in New Zealand. Risk factors associated with beef and dairy cattle suggest that ruminants are the most important sources of STEC infection. Notably, outbreaks of STEC infections are rare in New Zealand and this further suggests that food is not a significant exposure pathway.

Following the detection of imported cases of pandemic influenza A(H1N1)v on 25 April 2009, New Zealand implemented containment measures that appeared to slow establishment of the pandemic during May. The pandemic accelerated markedly in June, reaching a peak within four to six weeks, and has been declining since mid-July. By 23 August there had been 3,179 recorded cases (97.8% reported as confirmed), including 972 hospitalisations, 114 intensive care admissions, and 16 deaths. Influenza-like illness (ILI) surveillance in general practice suggests that 7.5% (95% CI: 3.4-11.2) of the population of New Zealand had symptomatic infection, giving a case fatality ratio of 0.005%. Hospitalisations were markedly higher for Māori (age standardised relative risk (RR)=3.0, 95% CI: 2.9-3.2) and Pacific peoples (RR=6.7, 95% CI: 6.2-7.1) compared with Europeans and others. The apparent decline of the pandemic (shown by all surveillance systems) cannot be fully explained. New Zealand remains in the middle of its traditional influenza season, the influenza A(H1N1)v virus appears relatively infectious, and we estimate that only about 11% of the population have been infected by this novel agent.