an indirect effect of pandemic influenza A(H1N1)?

• Main Author: A Österlund
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 2010
• Subjects: Sunderby Hospital; Luleå; Norrbotten
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.309.115; http://www.eurosurveillance.org/images/dynamic/EE/V15N39/art19675.pdf

A sudden reduction in the number of reported genital chlamydia cases was observed in Norrbotten County, Sweden, during October to November 2009. After exploring other possibilities, such as a reduction in the number of chlamydia tests analysed or a new Chlamydia trachomatis variant that had been undetected in standard laboratory tests, it was found likely that the decrease was an indirect effect of the 2009 influenza A(H1N1) pandemic due to reduced social interactions among young adults. Background Genital chlamydia infection has been a mandatorily notifiable disease in Sweden since 1988 [1]. Contact tracing is also mandatory for every case [1]. Since October 2009, the number of reported cases of genital chlamydia has decreased dramatically in Norrbotten, the northernmost Swedish county, which has a sparse population of 250,000 inhabitants. When comparing the number of monthly reported cases of genital Chlamydia trachomatis infections during the period January 2008 to October 2009 with that from November 2009 to July 2010, a 37 % reduction was seen. This represents a fall in the monthly incidence from 33 per 100,000 population to 21 per 100,000 population. We have therefore investigated the possible causes of this sudden decrease. Number of genital chlamydia tests conducted One possible explanation for the decrease in the number of reported genital chlamydia cases is that there had been a reduction in the number of people tested for C. trachomatis. All C. trachomatis samples in the county are analysed at the microbiology laboratory at Sunderby Hospital in Luleå, Sweden. When comparing the mean number of monthly C. trachomatis tests at the laboratory during the period January 2008