Monday, August 12, 2013

Blood samples hint at silent H7N9 in poultry workers

Lisa Schnirring | Staff Writer | CIDRAP News  
Aug 12, 2013
Excerpts:
They collected and analyzed serum samples, along with epidemiologic data, from 1,129 people from three Zhejiang cities in the province that had human H7N9 cases. The group also collected serum samples and nasal swabs from 396 people who had occupational exposure to poultry in districts where human cases had been found.
Among poultry workers, 6.3% had antibodies against the new H7N9 virus, based on hemagglutinin inhibition (HI) assay titers of 80 or greater. In contrast, the investigators found no evidence of antibodies in the general population.
-snip-
Serum findings in poultry workers also hint that subclinical infections occur. However, the researchers noted that an earlier study using blood samples collected from poultry workers in four provinces found no evidence of H7N9 exposure, suggesting that the workers in Zhejiang only recently developed the antibodies against the virus.

http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2013/08/blood-samples-hint-silent-h7n9-poultry-workers

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