Viral respiratory infections during the 2009 influenza A(H1N1) outbreak in the West Midlands Region, UK

2011 ◽  
Vol 140 (9) ◽  
pp. 1551-1556 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. E. TANNER ◽  
M. D. CURRAN ◽  
E. H. BOXALL ◽  
H. OSMAN

SUMMARYIn spring 2009 a new strain of influenza A(H1N1) emerged and caused a worldwide pandemic. This study utilized a large collection of respiratory specimens from suspected cases of influenza A(H1N1) in the UK West Midlands during the pandemic in order to investigate which other respiratory viruses were circulating and whether they played any role in the increased hospitalization rates seen during that period. Study specimens were selected from community and hospitalized patients positive and negative for influenza A(H1N1) and tested by PCR for other respiratory viruses. A number of infections diagnosed as influenza during the summer influenza outbreak were found to be due to other virus infections (most commonly rhinovirus). No statistically significant difference was found between the rates of respiratory virus co-infection with H1N1 in patients from community or hospital locations suggesting underlying factors were likely to be more significant than viral co-infections in determining severity of influenza A(H1N1) disease.

Author(s):  
Sinha Pranay ◽  
Katherine Reifler ◽  
Michael Rossi ◽  
Manish Sagar

Abstract Detection of diverse respiratory viruses in Boston was around 80% lower after practices were instituted to limit COVID-19 spread compared to the same time period during the previous five years. Continuing the strategies that lower COVID-19 dissemination may be useful in decreasing the incidence of other viral respiratory infections.


2014 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 199-201
Author(s):  
Adrian Jarzynski ◽  
Agata Dubas ◽  
Malgorzata Polz-Dacewicz

ABSTRACT Viruses that cause respiratory tract infections are the most common agents of infectious diseases in humans throughout the world. A virus that infects the respiratory system, may induce various clinical symptoms. What is more, the same symptoms may be caused by different viruses. The aim of the study was to analyze the prevalence of enteroviruses that cause respiratory infections in patients with influenzavirus A/H1N1 hospitalized in the Lublin province. The experimental material was throat and nose swabs taken from patients hospitalized in Lublin and Tomaszow Lubelski. In the group of 44 patients (20 women and 24 men) infected with influenza A/H1N1, the genetic material of enteroviruses was detected in 13 patients (29.5%). Respiratory viruses co-infections are very common in hospitalized patients. Studies show that co-infection with influenza virus and enterovirus are more common in children than in adults. Moreover, viral respiratory tract infections are independent from the patients’ gender.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Neli Korsun ◽  
Svetla Angelova ◽  
Ivelina Trifonova ◽  
Silvia Voleva ◽  
Iliana Grigorova ◽  
...  

Нuman bocaviruses (hBoVs) are often associated with acute respiratory infections (ARIs). Information on the distribution and molecular epidemiology of hBoVs in Bulgaria is currently limited. The objectives of this study were to investigate the prevalence and genetic characteristics of hBoVs detected in patients with ARIs in Bulgaria. From October 2016 to September 2019, nasopharyngeal/oropharyngeal swabs were prospectively collected from 1842 patients of all ages and tested for 12 common respiratory viruses using a real-time RT-PCR. Phylogenetic and amino acid analyses of the hBoV VP1/VP2 gene/protein were performed. HBoV was identified in 98 (5.3%) patients and was the 6th most prevalent virus after respiratory-syncytial virus (20.4%), influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 (11.1%), A(H3N2) (10.5%), rhinoviruses (9.9%), and adenoviruses (6.8%). Coinfections with other respiratory viruses were detected in 51% of the hBoV-positive patients. Significant differences in the prevalence of hBoVs were found during the different study periods and in patients of different age groups. The detection rate of hBoV was the highest in patients aged 0–4 years (6.9%). In this age group, hBoV was the only identified virus in 9.7%, 5.8%, and 1.1% of the children diagnosed with laryngotracheitis, bronchiolitis, and pneumonia, respectively. Among patients aged ≥5 years, hBoV was detected as a single agent in 2.2% of cases of pneumonia. Phylogenetic analysis showed that all Bulgarian hBoV strains belonged to the hBoV1 genotype. A few amino acid substitutions were identified compared to the St1 prototype strain. This first study amongst an all-age population in Bulgaria showed a significant rate of hBoV detection in some serious respiratory illnesses in early childhood, year-to-year changes in the hBoV prevalence, and low genetic variability in the circulating strains.


2018 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 102
Author(s):  
Raghad H. Al-Azzawi

In the last years, the world has been facing pandemic influenza which caused by influenza A virus. In this study detection of influenza A virus infection in Iraqi patients was done by r RT-PCR. Three hundred eighty (380) clinical respiratory secretions samples that were collected between December and April 2013, from different hospitals and they were sent to Central Public Health Laboratory (CPHL)/National Influenza center/ Baghdad /Iraq. Among these samples, only 35 samples (22 Males and 13 females all of them were adults) gave positive results (both TS (throat swabs) and NPS (nasopharyngeal swab)) for influenza A virus (9.2%). Interleukin-6 (IL-6) and IL-1 α are pleiotropic cytokines implicated in the pathogenesis of local inflammation during viral upper respiratory infections. Cytokines levels in both NPS and TS were determined. The result appeared that there was a significant difference between IL-6 and IL-1α, but there was no significant difference between IL-6 and IL-1 α in Ts and NSP. For the first time we try to detect C-reactive protein (CRP) in nasopharyngeal swab (NPS) and throat swabs (TS) and compared with serum, also to prove that this protein may be secreted in fluids other than serum. The result showed that 64.3% of both NPS and TS were positive for CRP. This may be due to that CRP in response to microbial infection, tissue injury, and immunomodulatory stimuli are synthesized and released by various cells.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leong Hoe Nam

The influenza virus is a segmented RNA virus with different mechanisms for mutations, and hence for minor (antigenic drift) and major (antigenic shift) changes. Influenza virus A was responsible for pandemics on average every 30 years in the past, with the most recent being the 2009 swine-origin influenza A H1N1 (SO-H1N1). The clinical picture is unspecific: seasonal or pandemic influenza cannot be differentiated from other viral respiratory infections on clinical grounds. PCR has become the standard for microbiological confirmation of the diagnosis. Treatment options remain limited with neuraminidase inhibitors (oseltamivir; zanamivir). Resistance may occur under treatment or under prophylaxis; however, it is still rare overall. Vaccination is still the preferred method for prevention. However, the long lead time for production (at least 6 months) poses a challenge. Innovative new techniques like cell culture or recombinant productions are urgently needed. Pandemic influenza vaccines for SO-H1N1 were shown to be effective and safe in children, pregnant women, adults, and also in elderly. Pre-pandemic vaccines (H5N1) are also available.


2012 ◽  
Vol 31 (11) ◽  
pp. 1107-1112 ◽  
Author(s):  
Linda C. Ede ◽  
Michael J. Loeffelholz ◽  
Pedro Alvarez-Fernandez ◽  
Dan L. Pong ◽  
Janak A. Patel ◽  
...  

2016 ◽  
Vol 144 (10) ◽  
pp. 2064-2076 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. NICKBAKHSH ◽  
F. THORBURN ◽  
B. VON WISSMANN ◽  
J. McMENAMIN ◽  
R. N. GUNSON ◽  
...  

SUMMARYViral respiratory infections continue to pose a major global healthcare burden. At the community level, the co-circulation of respiratory viruses is common and yet studies generally focus on single aetiologies. We conducted the first comprehensive epidemiological analysis to encompass all major respiratory viruses in a single population. Using extensive multiplex PCR diagnostic data generated by the largest NHS board in Scotland, we analysed 44230 patient episodes of respiratory illness that were simultaneously tested for 11 virus groups between 2005 and 2013, spanning the 2009 influenza A pandemic. We measured viral infection prevalence, described co-infections, and identified factors independently associated with viral infection using multivariable logistic regression. Our study provides baseline measures and reveals new insights that will direct future research into the epidemiological consequences of virus co-circulation. In particular, our study shows that (i) human coronavirus infections are more common during influenza seasons and in co-infections than previously recognized, (ii) factors associated with co-infection differ from those associated with viral infection overall, (iii) virus prevalence has increased over time especially in infants aged <1 year, and (iv) viral infection risk is greater in the post-2009 pandemic era, likely reflecting a widespread change in the viral population that warrants further investigation.


2012 ◽  
Vol 54 (5) ◽  
pp. 249-255 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Carolina M. Albuquerque ◽  
Rafael B. Varella ◽  
Norma Santos

The frequency of viral pathogens causing respiratory infections in children in the cities of Rio de Janeiro and Teresópolis was investigated. Nasal swabs from children with acute respiratory illnesses were collected between March 2006 and October 2007. Specimens were tested for viral detection by conventional (RT)-PCR and/or real time PCR. Of the 205 nasal swabs tested, 64 (31.2%) were positive for at least one of the viral pathogens. Single infections were detected in 56 samples, 50 of those were caused by RNA viruses: 33 samples tested positive for rhinovirus, five for influenza A, five for metapneumovirus, four for coronavirus and, three for respiratory syncytial virus. For the DNA viruses, five samples were positive for bocavirus and one for adenovirus. Co-infections with these viruses were detected in eight samples. Our data demonstrate a high frequency of viral respiratory infections, emphasizing the need for a more accurate diagnosis particularly for the emerging respiratory viruses. The fact that the emerging respiratory viruses were present in 9.2% of the tested samples suggests that these viruses could be important respiratory pathogens in the country.


2013 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 95-96
Author(s):  
Catiane Tiecher Cusinato ◽  
Caroline Beck ◽  
Nêmora Tregnago Barcellos ◽  
Fernando Herz Wolff

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 413-425
Author(s):  
Anna Sominina ◽  
Daria Danilenko ◽  
Andrey Komissarov ◽  
Maria Pisareva ◽  
Tamila Musaeva ◽  
...  

AbstractThe expansion and standardization of clinical trials, as well as the use of sensitive and specific molecular diagnostics methods, provide new information on the age-specific roles of influenza and other respiratory viruses in development of severe acute respiratory infections (SARI). Here, we present the results of the multicenter hospital-based study aimed to detect age-specific impact of influenza and other respiratory viruses (ORV). The 2018–2019 influenza season in Russia was characterized by co-circulation of influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 and A(H3N2) virus subtypes which were detected among hospitalized patients with SARI in 19.3% and 16.4%, respectively. RSV dominated among ORV (15.1% of total cases and 26.8% in infants aged ≤ 2 years). The most significant SARI agents in intensive care units were RSV and influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 virus, (37.3% and 25.4%, respectively, of PCR-positive cases). Hyperthermia was the most frequently registered symptom for influenza cases. In contrast, hypoxia, decreased blood O2 concentration, and dyspnea were registered more often in RSV, rhinovirus, and metapneumovirus infection in young children. Influenza vaccine effectiveness (IVE) against hospitalization of patients with PCR-confirmed influenza was evaluated using test-negative case–control design. IVE for children and adults was estimated to be 57.0% and 62.0%, respectively. Subtype specific IVE was higher against influenza A(H1N1)pdm09, compared to influenza A(H3N2) (60.3% and 45.8%, respectively). This correlates with delayed antigenic drift of the influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 virus and genetic heterogeneity of the influenza A(H3N2) population. These studies demonstrate the need to improve seasonal influenza prevention and control in all countries as states by the WHO Global Influenza Strategy for 2019–2030 initiative.


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