Lower cognitive scores among toddlers in birth cohorts with acute respiratory illnesses, fevers, and laboratory-confirmed influenza.

Background: We established cohorts to assess associations between viral influenza and cognitive development to inform the value proposition of vaccination.

Methods: From 2014 through 2017, we called women seeking care at four prenatal clinics in Panama and El Salvador to identify acute respiratory illnesses (ARIs). Within 2 weeks of childbirth, mothers were asked to enroll their neonates in the cognitive development study.