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Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has been on a downward trend since May, 2022, but it continues to cause substantial numbers of hospital admissions and deaths. We describe this burden in the 2 years since May, 2022, and compare it with the burden of influenza in Denmark., Methods: This observational cohort study included residents in Denmark from May 16, 2022, to June 7, 2024. Data were obtained from national registries, including admissions with COVID-19 or influenza (ie, having a positive PCR test for either virus from 14 days before and up to 2 days after the hospital admission date), deaths, sex, age, COVID-19 and influenza vaccination status, comorbidities, and residence in long-term care facilities. Negative binomial regression was used to estimate adjusted incidence rate ratios (aIRRs) to compare rates of hospital admissions between COVID-19 and influenza. To compare the severity of COVID-19 versus influenza among patients admitted to hospital, we used the Kaplan-Meier estimator to produce weighted cumulative incidence curves and adjusted risk ratios (aRRs) of mortality at 30 days between COVID-19 and influenza admissions., Findings: Among 5 899 170 individuals, COVID-19 admissions (n=24 400) were more frequent than influenza admissions (n=8385; aIRR 2·04 [95% CI 1·38-3·02]), particularly during the first year (May, 2022, to May, 2023) versus the second year (May, 2023, to June, 2024; p=0·0096), in the summer versus the winter (p<0·0001), and among people aged 65 years or older versus younger than 65 years (p<0·0001). The number of deaths was also higher for patients with COVID-19 (n=2361) than patients with influenza (n=489, aIRR 3·19 [95% CI 2·24-4·53]). Among patients admitted in the winter (n=19 286), the risk of mortality from COVID-19 was higher than for influenza (aRR 1·23 [95% CI 1·08-1·37]), particularly among those without COVID-19 and influenza vaccination (1·36 [1·05-1·67]), with comorbidities (1·27 [1·11-1·43]), and who were male (1·36 [1·14-1·59])., Interpretation: COVID-19 represented a greater disease burden than influenza, with more hospital admissions and deaths, and more severe disease (primarily among non-vaccinated people, those with comorbidities, and male patients). These results highlight the continued need for attention and public health efforts to mitigate the impact of SARS-CoV-2., Funding: Danish Government., Competing Interests: Declaration of interests We declare no competing interests., (Copyright © 2025 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved, including those for text and data mining, AI training, and similar technologies.)

Background: Zoonotic transmission of livestock-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus clonal complex 398 (LA-MRSA CC398) from industrial pig farms to farm workers and their household members and secondary transmission to elderly and immunocompromised persons has led to a growing number of serious infections and even death., Objective: We tested the hypothesis that conventional pig farms confer a higher risk for LA-MRSA CC398 carriage among farm workers and their household members than specific pathogen-free (SPF) farms, which follow a set of stringent rules concerning biosecurity, health control and transportation of pigs between herds., Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study of farm workers and their household members from 25 Danish pig farms positive for LA-MRSA CC398. Questionnaires were designed to obtain information about each farm and participant. Nasal samples from pigs and human volunteers were screened for LA-MRSA CC398. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to calculate adjusted ORs (aORs) and 95% CIs., Results: The study included 25 pig farms, 154 farm workers screened at the farm (93 of whom were also screened at home) and 173 household members. The risk of LA-MRSA CC398 carriage among farm workers at the farm (aOR=5.40, 95% CI 1.05 to 27.80) and household members (aOR=8.32; 95% CI 2.81 to 24.63) was significantly higher in conventional pig farms than in SPF farms., Conclusions: This study shows that strict biosecurity measures reduce the risk of LA-MRSA CC398 carriage among farm workers and their household members and thereby the disease burden in the general population., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2025. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ Group.)