Laboratory diagnosis of avian influenza virus H7N9 infection in a renal transplant recipient.

A renal transplant recipient who had atypical clinical manifestations, unclear epidemiological exposure history and negative results from influenza virus antigen and nucleic acid amplification in throat swab specimens was admitted into our hospital on April 17, 2013. He was finally diagnosed as avian influenzavirus H7N9 infection. Here, we reviewed the epidemiological, clinical and laboratory findings of this patient. We speculated that the specimens should be collected repeatedly at different sites for suspected cases or special cases needing differential diagnosis; different methods or kits should be used for laboratory testing; atypical clinical manifestations caused by the special nature of patients such as long-term use of immunosuppressive agents and autoimmune diseases should also be taken into account.