Poster Presentation 16th Lorne Infection and Immunity 2026

Prevalence and risk factors for influenza A virus infections and carriage in individuals residing in high-risk human-animal interfaces in Bangladesh (131972)

Josefina Abedin 1 , Emama Amin 2 , Shusmita Dutta 2 , Nicholas Clark 1 , Tahmina Shirin 2 , Meerjady Sabrina Flora 2 , Ariful Islam 3 , Ricardo Soares Magalhaes 1
  1. The University of Queensland, Gatton, QLD, Australia
  2. Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR), Dhaka, Bangladesh
  3. Biosecurity Research Program and Training Centre, Gulbali Institute, Charles Sturt University, Wagga Wagga, NSW, Australia

Background: Current surveillance systems for influenza primarily focus on individuals presenting to tertiary health services and the prevalence of infection in non-hospital settings is comparatively less well described. Specifically, high-risk community settings, such as those with livestock contact, are likely to present a higher prevalence of infection and carriage. This study aimed to characterize prevalence and risk factors for influenza infections in individuals in both community and hospital settings at human-animal interfaces in Bangladesh. Methods: Biological specimens were collected from individuals residing in three communities and one hospital from October 2017 to January 2019 in dry and wet seasons at human-animal interfaces. Samples were collected and tested for Influenza A or B for M and PB1 genes using PCR.  The association between IAV infection and potential risk factors was measured by using Bayesian logistic regression. Results: Out of 862 individuals from three communities (n=612) and one tertiary hospital (n=250), 19 (2.20%; 95% CI: 1.33–3.42) were positive for Influenza A virus (IAV) infections by RT-PCR. The proportion of IAVs in hospital participants was comparable to that of community participants [2.80% (95% CI: 1.13-5.68) vs 1.96% (95% CI: 1.01–3.40), respectively]. Among 19 positive IAV cases, 3 (1.38%) were asymptomatic and 16 (2.48%) were symptomatic. Our model indicated that the odds of IAV in the wet season [adjusted OR (aOR)=4.76, 95% credible interval (CrI): 1.82–14.28] were higher compared to IAV negative cases. While non-significant the odds of IAV positivity among livestock exposed (aOR = 2.11, 95% CrI: 0.63–8.67) and dogs and cats exposed (aOR = 1.91, 95% CrI: 0.71–5.42) were higher compared to IAV negative individuals. Conclusion: Our study found similar IAV infection rates in community and hospital settings, emphasizing the need to supplement traditional hospital surveillance with community surveillance and implement seasonally targeted interventions during the wet season.