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Blood test of several people who had contact A patient in Missouri H. Two sources with knowledge of the investigation.
It is H5N1. This type of influenza, which is rare in humans but highly contagious and deadly in a variety of animal species, including poultry and dairy cattle, raises concerns that it may also become a human virus.
The special blood tests, conducted by scientists at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, looked for immune proteins called antibodies, which are made in response to infection. These antibodies confirm that a person has had a previous infection with a specific pathogen. The results are expected to be widely shared with public health officials, scientists and the media in a series of calls organized by health officials Thursday morning.
The tests were conducted to determine whether the Missouri patient — the first human to contract H5N1 influenza in the United States without exposure to any infected animals — had contracted it. Until now, the H5N1 virus has not been able to spread easily between people. Infectious disease experts fear that if the virus gains that capacity, it could trigger a new pandemic.
While the results do not rule out person-to-person transmission of the virus, they do suggest that the virus did not spread and did not occur in health care settings where caregivers had close physical contact with patients.
Around the United States, More than two dozen people have died of HIV this year. According to the CDC.
The results of the new study show that health care workers – doctors who showed signs of respiratory illness while caring for the patient – are more likely to be infected with HIV. However, a person who lived in the same household as the patient and became ill at the same time had antibodies to H5N1 infection.
Infectious disease experts with knowledge of the findings said it was a relief to see the results.
“It gives me more confidence that the health care workers are not positive and that this is not going to spread between people in an ongoing way,” said Dr. Jennifer Nuzzo, who is leading the outbreak. Center at Brown University School of Public Health.
At the same time, Nuzzo said, data gaps limit what a patient and a family member can learn about how they got sick.
Experts say that since both people started showing symptoms at the same time, it is more likely to be shared than from one person to another, but in this case, person-to-person transmission cannot be ruled out. .
“We still have all these questions,” said Dr. Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research at the University of Minnesota. “Was the source the same? Was it from person to person?”
Another question is related to symptoms. Neither of the people who tested positive for H5N1 had typical flu symptoms. Instead, they had gastrointestinal problems, including diarrhea, which led investigators to suspect that food poisoning may have been a concurrent cause of their illness.
Osterholm said it's unclear whether the H5N1 virus is causing those symptoms or whether they had more than one infection at the same time.
“I've seen this happen,” he said.
Both the Missouri patient and their family member were interviewed several times about possible exposure to the virus. They did not report having had any raw milk or other raw dairy products, and could not recall any contact with potentially infected animals, including “direct or indirect contact with wild birds, domestic poultry, cats, cattle, not consuming raw dairy products.” other wildlife in the case and in close contact,” Lisa Cox, spokeswoman for the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, said in an email. The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services is leading the investigation with assistance from the CDC.
Experts said the test results shed some light on how both men contracted the virus.
“I don't think we're going to get good information from it,” said immunology and vaccine researcher Dr. Rick Bright, who previously headed the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority.
It's important to flag when similar conditions appear that suggest the virus is causing unusual symptoms or possibly infecting people through an as-yet-unknown route of exposure, he said.
Although the CDC has done a thorough job looking for antibodies in the case, Bright said, “There are so many strange things, I don't think we can put too much weight on it.” Health care workers said it was “convincing and comforting” that he had not tested positive.
To get these test results, the CDC had to reconstruct the exact virus carried by the patient in Missouri to look for antibodies that could capture the unique structure. The agency explained in a recent news release that it is taking additional steps to eliminate false negatives or false positives.
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The extra effort gave the agency confidence in its research, but it also caused another delay that took weeks to identify and investigate the case. The patient was first admitted to the hospital on August 22.
While the delays are probably unavoidable, if H5N1 infections become widespread, H.
“I'm very happy that we finally have the data that should have been shared weeks ago. I think every case, every human case is an important case of H5. All are valid and all have value. [blood testing]Because this virus should not be in humans and we need to understand it so that we can prevent infectious diseases that can be transmitted from person to person. Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security.
“Every data point is important in this process,” Sorrell said. “So I think that delay is a big, big deal.”