A Systematic Review of the Epidemiology of Human Respiratory Viruses in
Indonesia
Abstract
Viral pathogens greatly contribute to higher respiratory disease burden
among individuals living in low-to-middle income countries (LMICs). In
Indonesia, influenza-like illness (ILI) and severe acute respiratory
infection (SARI) surveillance networks have been established to better
understand the epidemiology of viral respiratory disease; however, due
to limited resources and operational capacity, data from these systems
are sparse. Here, we summarize the results of a literature review
conducted to identify published articles related to human respiratory
viruses in Indonesia. We identified 66 scientific articles, published
between 1998 and 2021. Of these, 21 (31.8%) studied influenza A or B,
17 (25.8%) studied influenza H5N1, 19 (28.8%) studied coronaviruses, 5
(7.6 %) studied RSV, and 2 (3.0 %) studied enterovirus. Our findings
show that large numbers of studies in Indonesia were primarily conducted
in response to viral respiratory disease outbreaks, but with limited
epidemiological data. We also identified gaps in information regarding
the geographical distribution of viral respiratory disease burden, as
studies were more highly concentrated in populated cities, such as
Jakarta, Java, and Bali. This review highlights the need for more robust
surveillance of ILI and SARI cases throughout Indonesia, as well as
allocation of more resources for viral respiratory disease etiology and
epidemiological studies.