PLoS Medicine
(Accessed 20 December 2009)
http://medicine.plosjournals.org/perlserv/?request=browse&issn=1549-1676&method=pubdate&search_fulltext=1&order=online_date&row_start=1&limit=10&document_count=1533&ct=1&SESSID=aac96924d41874935d8e1c2a2501181c#results

Influenza in Africa
Maria Yazdanbakhsh, Peter G. Kremsner Essay, published 15 Dec 2009

Summary Points
– Influenza activity displays a seasonal pattern in temperate areas with marked peaks in the winter, but influenza is present all year round throughout the tropics.

– A well-established network of surveillance systems, World Health Organization (WHO) Flu Net, is in place in Europe and North America, providing continuous data on influenza burden and spread of viral types and subtypes.

– Recent threats of pandemic influenza are prompting the establishment of active monitoring in parts of Southeast Asia and Latin America.

– But prevalence and incidence of influenza in most tropical countries, especially in Africa, are largely unknown, and improved surveillance is needed.

– Similarly, little information on influenza vaccine efficacy in tropical Africa is available, and clinical trials are needed.