Virol Sin . Human H9N2 Avian Influenza Infection: Epidemiological and Clinical Characterization of 16 Cases in China

[tetano]

Virol Sin


. 2020 Jul 6.
doi: 10.1007/s12250-020-00248-9. Online ahead of print.
Human H9N2 Avian Influenza Infection: Epidemiological and Clinical Characterization of 16 Cases in China


Xuan Dong ¹ , Jiasong Xiong ^{2 3} , Chaolin Huang ¹ , Jie Xiang ¹ , Wenjuan Wu ¹ , Nanshan Chen ¹ , Danning Wen ¹ , Chao Tu ¹ , Xueli Qiao ¹ , Liang Kang ¹ , Zhongzi Yao ^{2 3} , Dingyu Zhang ⁴ , Quanjiao Chen ^{5 6}



Affiliations

• PMID: 32632816
• DOI: 10.1007/s12250-020-00248-9

[sharon sanders]

at above link -


During the 2018–2019 flu season, the number of patients with influenza-like illness that presented at Wuhan JinYinTan Hospital (Hubei, China) increased and more patients showing severe illness compared to previous years. To characterize the epidemic influenza virus, 54 oropharyngeal swabs collected from patients with influenza-like illness between January and February 2019, with influenza A-positive, were subjected to next-generation sequencing (NGS). Among of 54 swabs, full-length genomes of H9N2 viruses were obtained from 16 swab samples, and the H9N2 isolates were confirmed by Haemagglutination inhibition (HI) assay and RT-PCR (see supplementary materials for details). Furthermore, these 16 orophyaryngeal swabs were negative for seasonal influenza (H1, H3, and influenza B virus) and other subtypes AIV tested by RT-PCR and the next generation sequencing. Namely, sixteen patients were confirmed to have H9N2 virus infection. 16 inpatients infected with H9N2 virus were included in this study. The history of hospitalization and physical examination, hematological, biochemical, radiological, and microbiological test results were collected. Among 16 patients, 11 (68.8%) had severe illness (including four deaths), whereas symptoms of H9N2 infection are usually mild. We further explored the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of these cases to provide a much-needed theoretical basis for the prevention and treatment of human H9N2 infection.

snip

The 16 confirmed cases were distributed over five districts of Hubei Province, and 56.3% (9/16) were in Wuhan, the capital city of Hubei Province (Supplementary Figure S1).


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In July 2020, a manuscript describing 16 human cases of A(H9N2) infection detected in January and February 2019 was published in the Virologica Sinica journal.6 WHO became aware of the findings after the genetic sequences of the 16 H9N2 viruses had been uploaded to GenBank and included in the preparatory materials for the zoonotic component of the WHO consultation on composition of influenza virus vaccines for use in the 2021 Southern Hemisphere Influenza Season held from 29 September to 1 October 2020.7 WHO has worked with its partners in GISRS, including the WHO Collaborating Center for Reference and Research on Influenza at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDCD), Beijing, China, to review the currently available information. Further investigations, including laboratory characterization by the WHO Collaborating Center at the CDCD, which has been coordinating with the authors of the paper, were completed.

The WHO Collaborating Center did not detect influenza A(H9N2) virus material in respiratory swabs and no antibodies to influenza A(H9N2) viruses detected in sera specimens; two samples from the 16 cases were positive for A(H1N1)pdm09 but no other influenza viruses were detected by PT-PCR.

The author of the paper also repeated their tests and could not confirm detection of A(H9N2) viruses in the specimens.

https://www.who.int/influenza/human_..._2020.pdf?ua=1