Surveillance of influenza in Xinjiang, 2009-2012

Objective The influenza surveillance network system covering every regions has been in established Xinjiang since 2009,by using the data collected through the system, the epidemiological characteristics of influenza in Xinjiang from 2009 to 2012 was analyzed. Methods Descriptive epidemiological analysis was conducted on the proportion of illness like influenza (ILI) cases, the positive rate of pathogen detection, and distribution of influenza outbreaks in Xinjiang during this period. Results The overall median of weekly reported ILI proportion was 2.58%,the median of ILI proportion was 2.35% in summer and autumn and 2.81% in winter and spring. The overall median of influenza virus nucleic acid positive rate was 5.85%, the median of influenza virus nucleic acid positive rate was 0.51% in summer and autumn and 13.60% in winter and spring. The outbreaks mainly occurred in schools during winter and spring. Conclusion The seasonality of influenza epidemic was obvious in Xinjiang. It is necessary to further strengthen influenza surveillance to provide scientific evidence for the prevention and control of influenza, and the influenza prevention and control in schools during winter and spring should be strengthened too.