Retrospective screening for SARS-CoV-2 among 5,800 hospitalizations related to influenza-like illness during the 2018-19 pre-pandemic and 2019-2020 pandemic influenza seasons in the VAHNSI network, Spain.

Mira Iglesias, A.; Mengual-Chulia, B.; Cano-Perez, L.; Garcia Rubio, J.; Tortajada-Girbes, M.; Carballido-Fernandez, M.; Mollar-Maseres, J.; Schwarz-Chavarri, G.; Garcia Esteban, S.; Puig Barbera, J.; Diez-Domingo, J.; Lopez-Labrador, F. X.; Disease, Valencia Hospital Network for the Study of Influenza and Respiratory Viruses

On March 9 2020 the WHO Global Influenza Program (GIP) asked participant sites on the Global Influenza Hospital Surveillance Network (GIHSN) to contribute to data collection concerning severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). We re-analysed 5,615 viral RNA archived samples collected prospectively from hospital admissions for influenza-like illness (ILI) in the Valencia Region of Spain by the VAHNSI network (4 hospitals, catchment area population 1,118,732) during the prepandemic 2018/2019 (n=4,010) and pandemic 2019/2020 (n=1,823) influenza seasons, for the presence of SARS-CoV-2. We did not find evidence for community-acquired SARS-CoV-2 infection in hospital admissions for ILI in our region before 8 March 2020.