ATLANTA — Blacks, Asian Americans, and Hispanics were significantly more likely to be hospitalized for influenza during the 2004–2005 flu season in Utah, compared with non-Hispanic whites, Lisa Wyman reported in a poster presented at the International Conference on Emerging Infectious Diseases.
Overall, the hospitalization rate per 100,000 person-years was 22.2 cases among blacks, 22.6 cases among Asians/Pacific Islanders, and 19.0 cases among Hispanics, compared with 7.2 cases among non-Hispanic whites. Children younger than 5 years had the highest hospitalization rates of any age group, and these rates were significantly higher among minority children, compared with non-Hispanic whites.
Ms. Wyman and her colleagues at the Utah Department of Health reviewed all laboratory-confirmed cases of influenza reported in Utah during the 2004–2005 season. A total of 253 hospitalizations were reported, and complete race and ethnicity data were available for 209 of those cases.
The type of influenza virus was determined for 224 hospitalized cases; 136 were associated with the influenza A virus, and 88 were associated with the influenza B virus. Hispanics and Asian/Pacific Islander Americans were significantly more likely to have the influenza B virus (46% and 69%, respectively), compared with non-Hispanic whites. Hispanics aged 25 years and older were more likely to have the influenza B virus, compared with non-Hispanic whites, with an odds ratio of 6.86.
Although the study was limited by relatively small numbers, a preliminary review of data from the 2005–2006 flu season showed similar trends with regard to ethnic disparities in hospitalization rates.