Аннотация:Introduction: Individuals of all ages can be affected by the influenza virus and it can produce repeated infections throughout life.We aimed to describe the clinical and epidemiological profile of Kashmiri children infected with H1N1 influenza A virus.Material and methods: It was a hospital based prospective observational study done on infants and children under the age of 16 years admitted to paediatric wards and ICU and children under 16 years of age attending OPD with the diagnosis of influenza like illness.Basic epidemiological details like age, sex, residential status, date and time of admission to the hospital, history of close contact and clinical details like coexisting morbid conditions, date and time of first symptoms etc were collected.Results: Surveillance for influenza A (H1N1) virus revealed an overall sero-positivity of 19.4% (50 confirmed cases from 258 ILI patients).Among confirmed cases 22 were in category A, 16 were in category B and 12 were in category C. Mean age of lab confirmed cases was 7.6 +/-4.4 years and 56% (n=28) of the confirmed cases were males.Thirty-eight 38 (76%) belonged to rural population and 12 (24%) cases were from urban areas.Influenza A (H1N1) infection in children peaked during winter months (November to February).Conclusion: Influenza A (H1N1) paediatric patients are characterized by self-limiting, uncomplicated, febrile respiratory illness and make an over-all recovery with minimal complications.
