Background: Pandemic flu had at least two waves in Iran. Knowing how many of the general population were already exposed to this infection has a major impact on na-tional preventive measures. As of December 30, 2009, a total of 3672 confirmed cases of human infection with a novel Influenza A (2009 H1N1) virus had been reported in Iran with 140 deaths. Objective: In this study we aim to measure,...

281 The outbreak of the novel H1N1 influenza A, which began in Mexico, has attracted global attention due to the initial high mortality rate and rapid spread since April 2009. Zoonotic infection from pig to human was initially considered as most of the infected cases in Mexico had a history of close contact with pigs. By genotyping and sequencing the causative virus, it was found that the candi...

We evaluated the performance of four rapid influenza diagnostic test methods (RIDT) compared to real-time reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (rRT-PCR), for the detection of the novel swine-origin influenza A (H1N1) virus (S-OIV) in August 2009. A total of 270 respiratory specimens were tested with rRT-PCR, where 74 of these were tested by BinaxNow (Inverness), 80 by QuickVue (Quide...

Background and Aims: Influenza vaccination is one of the best way to prevent and control influenza worldwide. It is manufactured by WHO-licensed companies based on the WHO expertise committee annually. The aim of this study was partial quality control of the commercial human influenza vaccine 2008-9 and its matching with the circulating strains. Materials and Methods: The trivalent imported vac...

Active surveillance in health care centers in Gabon during 2009-2011 detected 72 clinical cases of pandemic (H1N1) 2009 (pH1N1). We found that pH1N1 virus was introduced in mid-2009 but spread throughout the country in 2010. Thus, Gabon was also affected by pH1N1.

BACKGROUND Influenza A viruses are medically important viral pathogens that cause significant mortality and morbidity throughout the world. The recent emergence of a novel human influenza A virus (H1N1) poses a serious health threat. Molecular tests for rapid detection of this virus are urgently needed. METHODS We developed a conventional 1-step RT-PCR assay and a 1-step quantitative real-tim...

In this study, the full-genome sequence of a novel reassortant H1N1 swine influenza virus (SIV) is reported. The isolate has a hemagglutinin (HA) gene of the pandemic H1N1 influenza virus, but it carries the seven genome segments of the avian-origin H1N1 SIV currently circulating in European pig farms.

During the 2009 H1N1 influenza A outbreak, 773 children were tested for influenza by direct fluorescent-antibody testing with PCR confirmation. Direct fluorescent-antibody testing has a specificity of 99.6% but a sensitivity of only 65.0%. Physicians should recognize diagnostic limitations of direct fluorescent-antibody testing, which missed one-third of infected individuals.