International audience; BackgroundInfluenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infections are responsible for substantial global morbidity and mortality in young children and elderly individuals. Estimates of the burden of influenza- and RSV-associated hospitalization are limited in Africa.MethodsWe conducted hospital-based surveillance for laboratory-confirmed influenza- and RSV-associated severe acute respiratory illness (SARI) among patients of any age at one hospital and a retrospective review of SARI hospitalizations in five hospitals situated in Antananarivo during 2011-2016. We estimated age-specific rates (per 100 000 population) of influenza- and RSV-associated SARI hospitalizations for the Antananarivo region and then extrapolated these rates to the national level.ResultsOverall, the mean annual national number of influenza-associated SARI hospitalizations for all age groups was 6609 (95% CI: 5381-7835-rate: 30.0; 95% CI: 24.4-35.6), 4468 (95% CI: 3796-5102-rate: 127.6; 95% CI: 108.4-145.7), 2141 (95% CI: 1585-2734-rate: 11.6; 95% CI: 8.6-14.8), and 339 (95% CI: 224-459-rate: 50.0; 95% CI: 36.3-74.4) among individuals aged