Influence of social contact patterns and demographic factors on influenza simulation results

Background The demographic composition and the frequency and nature of social contacts may affect the spread of influenza virus in a population, resulting in distinct age-dependent immunity patterns. As demography and social contact rates differ strongly between European countries, this may impact infection incidence and vaccine effectiveness and thus limit the extent to which conclusions derived from observations in one country can be generalized to others. In the current study, we aimed to decipher the impact of social contact patterns and demographic factors on simulation results and, thus, to determine to what extent vaccination results can be generalized.