Was the Reduction in Seasonal Influenza Transmission during 2020 Attributable to Non-Pharmaceutical Interventions to Contain Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Japan?

Abstract

We quantified the effects of adherence to various non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) on the seasonal influenza epidemic dynamics in Japan during 2020. The total monthly number of seasonal influenza cases per sentinel site (seasonal influenza activity) reported to the National Epidemiological Surveillance of Infectious Diseases and alternative NPI indicators (retail sales of hand hygiene products and number of airline passenger arrivals) from 2014–2020 were collected. The average number of monthly seasonal influenza cases in 2020 had decreased by approximately 66.0% (p p p p < 0.001). NPI adherence was associated with decreased seasonal influenza activity during the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan, which has crucial implications for planning public health interventions to minimize the health consequences of adverse seasonal influenza epidemics.

Keywords

• COVID-19
• SARS-CoV-2
• seasonal influenza
• NPIs
• epidemics