Since the 2009-2010 pandemic season, surveillance of serious and complicated cases of confirmed influenza has been active in Italy, which it is considered appropriate to continue to keep active also during the current 2023-2024 season.
The surveillance aims to collect information on severe forms and deaths, to better understand the epidemiology of severe forms in our country, also in terms of possible risk factors and changes during the flu epidemic.
The Circular 15 December 2023 “Monitoring the progress of severe and complicated forms confirmed in the laboratory” contains the definition of severe and complicated forms of confirmed influenza, the definition of SARI and ARDS and the methods for reporting cases and sending samples to the WHO National Center for virological surveillance of influenza (National Influenza Centre/NICHigher Institute of Health).
According to the indications of the circular, the Regions and autonomous Provinces are required to report to the Ministry and the Istituto Superiore di Sanità serious and complicated cases of laboratory-confirmed influenza, the conditions of which require hospitalization in an intensive care unit (ICU) and/or or the use of Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) therapy.