Secondary surveillance data on severe acute respiratory infections in Brazil were analysed for 35 weeks of 2026 by age group and by virus, with infection, mortality and case fatality rates described and missing virus classifications imputed. Influenza A infections quintupled over February and March with a mortality peak in April, while RSV and rhinovirus accounted for more deaths overall, concentrated below age 2 and above age 65. Vaccine-preventable mortality reached 17.23 per 100,000 in the oldest group, with 6,418 deaths classed as preventable under ideal conditions, about half of them under 15.
Why it is interesting: A current read on which respiratory viruses are driving severe outcomes in a national surveillance system, by age group and by virus.