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Retrospective investigation of an influenza A/H1N1pdm outbreak in an Italian military ship cruising in the Mediterranean Sea, May-September 2009

Clinical surveillance may have underestimated the real extent of the spread of the new strain of influenza A/H1N1, which surfaced in April 2009 originating the first influenza pandemic of the 21(st) century. Here we report a serological investigation on an influenza A/H1N1pdm outbreak in an Italian...

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Published in:PloS one 2011-01, Vol.6 (1), p.e15933-e15933
Main Authors: Tarabbo, Mario, Lapa, Daniele, Castilletti, Concetta, Tommaselli, Pietro, Guarducci, Riccardo, LucĂ , Giuditta, Emanuele, Alessandro, Zaccaria, Onofrio, La Gioia, Vincenzo F P, Girardi, Enrico, Capobianchi, Maria R, Ippolito, Giuseppe
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Language:English
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Summary:Clinical surveillance may have underestimated the real extent of the spread of the new strain of influenza A/H1N1, which surfaced in April 2009 originating the first influenza pandemic of the 21(st) century. Here we report a serological investigation on an influenza A/H1N1pdm outbreak in an Italian military ship while cruising in the Mediterranean Sea (May 24-September 6, 2009). The contemporary presence of HAI and CF antibodies was used to retrospectively estimate the extent of influenza A/H1N1pdm spread across the crew members (median age: 29 years). During the cruise, 2 crew members fulfilled the surveillance case definition for influenza, but only one was laboratory confirmed by influenza A/H1N1pdm-specific RT-PCR; 52 reported acute respiratory illness (ARI) episodes, and 183 reported no ARI episodes. Overall, among the 211 crew member for whom a valid serological result was available, 39.3% tested seropositive for influenza A/H1N1pdm. The proportion of seropositives was significantly associated with more crowded living quarters and tended to be higher in those aged
ISSN:1932-6203
1932-6203
DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0015933