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Serological evidence for avian H9N2 influenza virus infections among Romanian agriculture workers

tetano

Editor, Senior Moderator
J Infect Public Health. 2013 Jun 20. pii: S1876-0341(13)00077-4. doi: 10.1016/j.jiph.2013.05.003. [Epub ahead of print]
Serological evidence for avian H9N2 influenza virus infections among Romanian agriculture workers.
Coman A, Maftei DN, Krueger WS, Heil GL, Friary JA, Chereches RM, Sirlincan E, Bria P, Dragnea C, Kasler I, Gray GC.
Source

Center for Health Policy and Public Health, Institute for Social Research, Faculty of Political, Administrative and Communication Sciences, Babes-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
Abstract

In recent years, wild birds have introduced multiple highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 virus infections in Romanian poultry. In 2005 HPAI infections were widespread among domestic poultry and anecdotal reports suggested domestic pigs may also have been exposed. We sought to examine evidence for zoonotic influenza infections among Romanian agriculture workers. Between 2009 and 2010, 363 adult participants were enrolled in a cross-sectional, seroepidemiological study. Confined animal feeding operation (CAFO) swine workers in Tulcea and small, traditional backyard farmers in Cluj-Napoca were enrolled, as well as a non-animal exposed control group from Cluj-Napoca. Enrollment sera were examined for serological evidence of previous infection with 9 avian and 3 human influenza virus strains. Serologic assays showed no evidence of previous infection with 7 low pathogenic avian influenza viruses or with HPAI H5N1. However, 33 participants (9.1%) had elevated microneutralization antibody titers against avian-like A/Hong Kong/1073/1999(H9N2), 5 with titers ≥1:80 whom all reported exposure to poultry. Moderate poultry exposure was significantly associated with elevated titers after controlling for the subjects' age (adjusted OR=3.6; 95% CI, 1.1-12.1). There was no evidence that previous infection with human H3N2 or H2N2 viruses were confounding the H9N2 seroreactivity. These data suggest that H9N2 virus may have circulated in Romanian poultry and occasionally infected man.

Copyright ? 2013. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
KEYWORDS:

Agriculture, Communicable diseases, Emerging, Influenza A virus, Seroepidemiologic studies, Zoonoses

PMID:
23999337
[PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23999337
 
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