Influenza and Other Respiratory Viruses最新文献

Influenza activity peaks in southern (59.62%) and northern China (57.60%) during the 2022/2023 season reached the highest levels in the past 10 years. The 2023/2024 season witnessed a longer duration of the winter–spring epidemic weeks and a higher disease burden compared with previous high-epidemic years. The A(H3N2), A(H1N1)pdm09, and B/Victoria lineages alternated among the predominant circulating strains from the 2022/2023 season to the 2024/2025 season. After the 2022/2023 and 2023/2024 seasons of disruption and fluctuation, influenza in the 2024/2025 season has reverted to its previous epidemic pattern.

We estimated the burden of RSV-associated hospitalizations in US adults 1 year prior to RSV vaccine introduction. The overall annual incidence rate of RSV-associated hospitalization was 31.47 (95% CI: 21.89–43.97) per 100,000 adults. Rates were 10-fold and 17-fold higher among adults 60 to 74 years and ≥ 75 years compared with adults 18 to 49 years old. This prospective assessment demonstrated the burden of RSV-associated hospitalizations among adults, with the highest hospitalization rates among adults ≥ 60 years old, in the year prior to RSV vaccine introduction.

Studies suggest the burden of non-hospitalized severe respiratory illness might be substantial in Kenya. Using data from a Kenya COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness evaluation, we compared characteristics of patients aged ≥12 years who were hospitalized with severe respiratory illness to outpatients who were referred for hospitalization and declined (non-hospitalized). Symptom presentation and lung radiograph findings were similar among both groups, and patients in both were diagnosed with critical conditions, including acute respiratory distress syndrome (12% hospitalized; 4% non-hospitalized) and sepsis (10% both). Findings underscore the importance of including non-hospitalized severe illness when estimating the burden of disease for respiratory viruses.

Livestock intensification and modern farming practices, such as confinement and increased livestock densities, are thought to be strongly linked to zoonotic disease emergence and amplification [1, 2]. This may favor increased transmission, particularly to those working in close contact with livestock [1]. The recent introduction and spread of H5N1 avian influenza virus into dairy farms and dairy farm workers in early 2024 [3] highlights a need for surveillance of emerging zoonotic respiratory diseases at the cattle worker–cattle interface. In addition to influenza A viruses (IAV), influenza D virus [4] (IDV) and bovine coronaviruses [5] (BCoVs) are reservoired in cattle and may spill over into other animals, including sometimes to humans. For example, recent molecular and serological evidence suggests IDV may be spilling over into humans, specifically those with close contact to cattle [6-8]. Similarly, BCoVs have a large host range, and most notably, the seasonal human coronavirus, OC43-CoV, is thought to have originated from cattle, sharing a 96% global nucleotide identity with BCoV [9]. To this end, this one health-oriented study sought to determine IAV, IDV, and coronavirus transmission on dairy farms. We did so by prospectively collecting samples from cattle workers, their cattle, and the dairy farm environment to better understand the epidemiology and ecology of IAV, IDV, and coronaviruses.

From December 2022 to December 2023, we prospectively collected samples from 53 dairy workers, 60 dairy cows, 30 bioaerosol samples, and 22 dust samples from farm environments on two dairy operations in Texas. With farm owners' approval, dairy farms were visited every 3–4 months over the course of the study. After obtaining signed consent, nasal washes were collected from cattle workers by injecting 5 mL of sterile water into one nostril and collecting the expressed fluid. Participants also permitted the collection of up to 10 mL of whole blood. Within 12 h of collection, blood was spun down, and sera aliquoted and placed on ice. Nasal swabs were also collected from five cows at each encounter and up to three cows each month in-between encounters, prioritizing cows with signs of respiratory illness. Briefly, animal technicians on farms placed 6-in. polyester swabs into the nare of a cow and then placed the swab into 3 mL of viral transport media (Huachenyang [Shenzhen] Technology Co. Ltd. or Rocky Mountain Biologicals LLC) samples were placed on ice or shipped on cold packs to UTMB for analysis.

Environmental sampling, including bioaerosol and dust sampling, was also conducted at each farm encounter. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) BC251 multi-stage bioaerosol samplers were placed in four locations on each farm where humans and cows were in close contact or where sick cows were located. Samplers were placed