Severity Scale of Influenza and Acute Respiratory Illness Hospitalizations to Support Viral Genomic Surveillance: A Global Influenza Hospital Surveillance Network Pilot Study.

Background: This study aimed to establish a Severity Scale for influenza and other acute respiratory infections (ARI), requiring hospitalization, for surveillance and research purposes (the SevScale). Such a scale could aid the interpretation of data gathered from disparate settings. This could facilitate pooled analyses linking viral genetic sequencing data to clinical severity, bringing insights to inform influenza surveillance and the vaccine strain selection process.