An outbreak of influenza in Jamaica (1986)

ABSTRACT

An outbreak of febrile illness at the Police Training Academy in St. Catherine, Jamaica in October, 1986 is described. Influenza A similar to type A/Taiwan/86 (H1N1) was confirmed serologically in 33 cases, and Influenza B similar to typeB/Ann Arbor/86 in 1 case. Clinical findings included upper respiratory symptoms (97 percent) headache (74 percent), fever (68 percent), joint pains (39 percent) and retro-orbital pain (26 percent). The role of vaccination and chemoprophylaxis in the prevention of influenza is discussed, and the importance of surveillance is stressed (AU)