title: Family clusters of avian influenza A H7N9 virus infection in Guangdong Province, China.
abstract: Since its first identification, the epizootic avian influenza A H7N9 virus has continued to cause infections in China. Two waves were observed during this outbreak. No cases were reported from Guangdong Province during the first wave, but this province became one of the prime outbreak sites during the second wave. In order to identify the transmission potential of this continuously evolving infectious virus, our research group monitored all clusters of H7N9 infections during the second wave of the epidemic in Guangdong Province. Epidemiological, clinical, and virological data on these patients were collected and analyzed. Three family clusters including six cases of H7N9 infection were recorded. The virus caused severe disease in two adult patients but only mild symptoms for all four pediatric patients. All patients reported direct poultry or poultry market exposure history. Relevant environment samples collected according to their reported exposures tested H7N9 positive. Virus isolates from patients in the same cluster shared high sequence similarities. In conclusion, although continually evolving, the currently circulating H7N9 viruses in Guangdong Province have not yet demonstrated the capacity for efficient and sustained person-to-person transmission.
authors.affiliation: Guangdong Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, No. 160, Guangzhou, China Guangdong Provincial Institution of Public Health, Guangdong Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, No. 160, Guangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Lina
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Yi
authors.affiliation: Guangdong Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, No. 160, Guangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Dawei
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Guan
authors.affiliation: Guangdong Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, No. 160, Guangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Min
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.affiliation: Guangdong Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, No. 160, Guangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Guangdong Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, No. 160, Guangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Xianqiao
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zeng
authors.affiliation: Guangdong Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, No. 160, Guangzhou, China Guangdong Provincial Institution of Public Health, Guangdong Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, No. 160, Guangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.affiliation: Centre for Environment and Population Health, Griffith University, Nathan Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: Shannon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rutherford
authors.affiliation: Guangdong Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, No. 160, Guangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Lirong
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zou
authors.affiliation: Guangdong Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, No. 160, Guangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Lijun
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Liang
authors.affiliation: Guangdong Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, No. 160, Guangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Hanzhong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ni
authors.affiliation: Guangdong Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, No. 160, Guangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Xin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Guangdong Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, No. 160, Guangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Haojie
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhong
authors.affiliation: Guangdong Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, No. 160, Guangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Jianfeng
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: He
authors.affiliation: Guangdong Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, No. 160, Guangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Jinyan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Guangdong Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, No. 160, Guangzhou, China kecw2011@sina.com.
authors.forename: Changwen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ke
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D005190:Family; D005260:Female; D019267:Hemagglutinin Glycoproteins, Influenza Virus / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D064766:Influenza A Virus, H7N9 Subtype / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics*; D007251:Influenza, Human / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000821:virology*; D008297:Male; D009439:Neuraminidase / Q000235:genetics; D010802:Phylogeny; D011159:Population Surveillance; D014764:Viral Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D019267:Hemagglutinin Glycoproteins, Influenza Virus; D014764:Viral Proteins; C487630:NA protein, influenza A virus; D009439:Neuraminidase