• FluTrackers.com Inc. does not provide medical advice. Information on this web site is collected from various internet resources, and the FluTrackers board of directors makes no warranty to the safety, efficacy, correctness or completeness of the information posted on this site by any author or poster. The information collated here is for instructional and/or discussion purposes only and is NOT intended to diagnose or treat any disease, illness, or other medical condition. Every individual reader or poster should seek advice from their personal physician/healthcare practitioner before considering or using any interventions that are discussed on this website. By continuing to access this website you agree to consult your personal physican before using any interventions posted on this website, and you agree to hold harmless FluTrackers.com Inc., the board of directors, the members, and all authors and posters for any effects from use of any medication, supplement, vitamin or other substance, device, intervention, etc. mentioned in posts on this website, or other internet venues referenced in posts on this website.
  • We are not asking for any donations. Do not donate to any entity who says they are raising funds for us.

Unreliable usage of a single influenza virus IgM antibody assay in influenza-like illness: A retrospective study of the 2016-2018 flu epidemic

tetano

Editor, Senior Moderator
PLoS One. 2019 Apr 22;14(4):e0215514. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0215514. eCollection 2019.
[h=1]Unreliable usage of a single influenza virus IgM antibody assay in influenza-like illness: A retrospective study of the 2016-2018 flu epidemic.[/h] Yao Y[SUP]1[/SUP], Zhipeng Z[SUP]2[/SUP], Wenqi S[SUP]1[/SUP], Runqing L[SUP]2[/SUP], Dong Z[SUP]2[/SUP], Kun Q[SUP]3[/SUP], Xiuying Z[SUP]2[/SUP].
[h=3]Author information[/h]

[h=3]Abstract[/h] We retrospectively analyzed serum IgM antibodies (Abs) to influenza viruses from two tertiary hospitals in Beijing from December 2016 to February 2018. Samples from 36,792 patients, aged 0-98 years, were collected and tested. Among the patients, 923 children from two winter flu seasons were assayed with both antigens and IgM Abs to Flu A and Flu B and assigned as paired groups. Another 2,340 adults and 1,978 children with only antigen tested in the 2016 and 2017 winter flu seasons were named as unpaired groups. IgM Abs-positivity rates in children were 0.80% and 36.57% for Flu A and Flu B, respectively, peaking at 4-5 years of age. For adults, the Flu A and Flu B IgM Abs-positivity rates were 10.34% and 21.49%, respectively, peaking at 18-35 years of age. The trend of temporal distribution between the children and the adults was significantly correlated for IgM Abs to Flu B, but not for Flu A. Compared with unpaired groups, the detection rate of Flu A antigen was significantly higher than IgM Abs in children, whereas frequencies of IgM Abs were higher than antigen in adults. Incidence of Flu B antigen was sharply increased in 2017 winter than in the 2016 winter in both children and adults, but no concomitant increase was observed in IgM Abs to Flu B. For paired children groups, incidence of Flu B antigen in the 2017 flu season was significantly higher than that in the 2016 flu season; in contrast, positive rates of IgM Abs in the 2017 flu season were even lower than those in 2016. Considering antigen detection may reflect the Flu A/Flu B epidemic, our results indicate single-assayed IgM Abs were less effective in the diagnosis of acute influenza virus infection, and the use of this assay for epidemiology evaluations was not supported by these findings.


PMID: 31009494 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0215514
Free full text
 
Back
Top Bottom