Epidemiology and burden of influenza in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

Abstract

We describe influenza activity in the US Veterans Affairs (VA) population for the 2010-2011 through 2015-2016 seasons and compare with national CDC FluView data. VA confirmed influenza cases ranged from 1005 to 11 506 per season; triage calls from 6090 to 10 346; outpatient visits from 3849 to 13 406; antiviral prescriptions from 3650 to 32 826; hospitalizations from 546 to 4673; and deaths in hospitalized patients from 17 to 139. Peak activity was generally the same as observed nationally by the CDC. For the seasons analyzed, correlation between VA and CDC %ILI visits (r =.863), influenza hospitalizations (r =.953), positive tests (r =.948), and percent of tests positive (r =.938) was strong. Understanding influenza burden is important for evaluating prevention priorities and resource allocation within VA.