Shifting Patterns of Influenza Circulation during the COVID-19 Pandemic, Senegal

Abstract

Historically low levels of seasonal influenza circulation were reported during the first years of the COVID-19 pandemic and were mainly attributed to implementation of nonpharmaceutical interventions. In tropical regions, influenza’s seasonality differs largely, and data on this topic are scarce. We analyzed data from Senegal’s sentinel syndromic surveillance network before and after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic to assess changes in influenza circulation. We found that influenza shows year-round circulation in Senegal and has 2 distinct epidemic peaks: during January–March and during the rainy season in August–October. During 2021–2022, the expected January–March influenza peak completely disappeared, corresponding to periods of active SARS-CoV-2 circulation. We noted an unexpected influenza epidemic peak during May–July 2022. The observed reciprocal circulation of SARS-CoV-2 and influenza suggests that factors such as viral interference might be at play and should be further investigated in tropical settings.

Keywords

• Influenza
• COVID-19
• SARS-CoV-2
• viruses
• respiratory infections
• severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2