Influenza activity in metropolitan Rome, Italy, during the cold-weather months of 1976-1977

Several prospective methods for surveillance of influenza are systematically carried out among the population of this city: (a) monitoring of excess deaths from respiratory and other causes; (b) monitoring of excess absenteeism from work; (c) attempts to cultivate influenza virus from throat swabs obtained from patients with respiratory diseases attending outpatient services; (d) checking of increased antibody reactivity for prevailing influenza virus strains in serum samples obtained from healthy adults of the open population. The results of these studies will be reported with respect to influenza activity in the metropolitan area in the winter of 1976-1977. Comparison of the speed and effectiveness with which the influenza epidemic was identified in the urban population by the various surveillance methods will also be given.