BACKGROUND: In March 2009, global surveillance started detecting cases of influenza-like illness in Mexico. By mid-April 2009, two pediatric patients were identified in the United States who were confirmed to be infected by a novel influenza A (H1N1) strain. The present article describes the first identified severe respiratory infection and the first death associated with pandemic H1N1 (pH1N1) in Canada. METHODS: Enhanced public health and laboratory surveillance for pH1N1 was implemented throughout Alberta on April 24, 2009. Respiratory specimens from all patients with a respiratory illness and travel history or those presenting with a severe respiratory infection requiring hospitalization underwent screening for respiratory viruses using molecular methods. For the first severe case identified and the first death due to pH1N1, histocompatibility leukocyte antigens were compared by molecular methods. RESULTS: The first death (a 39-year-old woman) occurred on April 28, 2009, and on May 1, 2009, a 10-year-old child presented with severe respiratory distress due to pH1N1. Both patients had no travel or contact with anyone who had travelled to Mexico; the cases were not linked. Histocompatibility antigen comparison of both patients did not identify any notable similarity. pH1N1 strains identified in Alberta did not differ from the Mexican strain. CONCLUSION: Rapid transmission of pH1N1 continued to occur in Alberta following the first death and the first severe respiratory infection in Canada, which were identified without any apparent connection to Mexico or the United States. Contact tracing follow-up suggested that oseltamivir may have prevented ongoing transmission of pH1N1.
BACKGROUND: In March 2009, global surveillance started detecting cases of influenza-like illness in Mexico. By mid-April 2009, two pediatric patients were identified in the United States who were confirmed to be infected by a novel influenza A (H1N1) strain. The present article describes the first identified severe respiratory infection and the first death associated with pandemic H1N1 (pH1N1) in Canada. METHODS: Enhanced public health and laboratory surveillance for pH1N1 was implemented throughout Alberta on April 24, 2009. Respiratory specimens from all patients with a respiratory illness and travel history or those presenting with a severe respiratory infection requiring hospitalization underwent screening for respiratory viruses using molecular methods. For the first severe case identified and the first death due to pH1N1, histocompatibility leukocyte antigens were compared by molecular methods. RESULTS: The first death (a 39-year-old woman) occurred on April 28, 2009, and on May 1, 2009, a 10-year-old child presented with severe respiratory distress due to pH1N1. Both patients had no travel or contact with anyone who had travelled to Mexico; the cases were not linked. Histocompatibility antigen comparison of both patients did not identify any notable similarity. pH1N1 strains identified in Alberta did not differ from the Mexican strain. CONCLUSION: Rapid transmission of pH1N1 continued to occur in Alberta following the first death and the first severe respiratory infection in Canada, which were identified without any apparent connection to Mexico or the United States. Contact tracing follow-up suggested that oseltamivir may have prevented ongoing transmission of pH1N1.
Authors: Irma Silva-Zolezzi; Alfredo Hidalgo-Miranda; Jesus Estrada-Gil; Juan Carlos Fernandez-Lopez; Laura Uribe-Figueroa; Alejandra Contreras; Eros Balam-Ortiz; Laura del Bosque-Plata; David Velazquez-Fernandez; Cesar Lara; Rodrigo Goya; Enrique Hernandez-Lemus; Carlos Davila; Eduardo Barrientos; Santiago March; Gerardo Jimenez-Sanchez Journal: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A Date: 2009-05-11 Impact factor: 11.205
Authors: R A Fouchier; T M Bestebroer; S Herfst; L Van Der Kemp; G F Rimmelzwaan; A D Osterhaus Journal: J Clin Microbiol Date: 2000-11 Impact factor: 5.948
Authors: Anand Kumar; Ryan Zarychanski; Ruxandra Pinto; Deborah J Cook; John Marshall; Jacques Lacroix; Tom Stelfox; Sean Bagshaw; Karen Choong; Francois Lamontagne; Alexis F Turgeon; Stephen Lapinsky; Stéphane P Ahern; Orla Smith; Faisal Siddiqui; Philippe Jouvet; Kosar Khwaja; Lauralyn McIntyre; Kusum Menon; Jamie Hutchison; David Hornstein; Ari Joffe; Francois Lauzier; Jeffrey Singh; Tim Karachi; Kim Wiebe; Kendiss Olafson; Clare Ramsey; Sat Sharma; Peter Dodek; Maureen Meade; Richard Hall; Robert A Fowler Journal: JAMA Date: 2009-10-12 Impact factor: 56.272
Authors: Seema Jain; Laurie Kamimoto; Anna M Bramley; Ann M Schmitz; Stephen R Benoit; Janice Louie; David E Sugerman; Jean K Druckenmiller; Kathleen A Ritger; Rashmi Chugh; Supriya Jasuja; Meredith Deutscher; Sanny Chen; John D Walker; Jeffrey S Duchin; Susan Lett; Susan Soliva; Eden V Wells; David Swerdlow; Timothy M Uyeki; Anthony E Fiore; Sonja J Olsen; Alicia M Fry; Carolyn B Bridges; Lyn Finelli Journal: N Engl J Med Date: 2009-10-08 Impact factor: 91.245
Authors: Jason J LeBlanc; Yan Li; Nathalie Bastien; Kevin R Forward; Ross J Davidson; Todd F Hatchette Journal: J Clin Microbiol Date: 2009-09-30 Impact factor: 5.948
Authors: Kanti Pabbaraju; Kevin C Y Ho; Sallene Wong; Sandy Shokoples; Xiao-Li Pang; Kevin Fonseca; Julie D Fox Journal: Antiviral Res Date: 2008-01-11 Impact factor: 5.970