Influenza Prevalence and Vaccine Efficacy in Diabetic Patients in Qatar

Introduction: Diabetes (DM) is often recognized as ‎an independent risk factor for developing severe respiratory tract infections. Influenza infections are associated with higher hospitalization, morbidity and mortality in DM patients. Vaccination against Influenza virus would reduce the burden of flu infection in DM patients. Aim: To assess the prevalence and burden of influenza infection in DM patients in Qatar and to evaluate the efficacy of influenza vaccination in DM patients Methods: The study included 26,989 patients between 2016- 2018. Virology test results (20 pathogens) as well as the levels of HbA1c were collected for all participant. Data was filtered and analysed to explore the influenza prevalence and vaccine efficiacy among diabetis patients in comparision to non-diabetic. Findings: This study shows that DM patients are at higher-risk for influenza infection. In general, Influenza infections covers around 50 % of total respiratory infections in patients with flu like symptoms in Qatar. However, in vaccinated DM patients, influenza test positivity was low. This study reports the efficacy of routine flu vaccination to reduce the burden of influenza infection in DM patients.