Abstract
Outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 virus have occurred in Vietnam since 2003. However, how people got avian H5N1 infection in Northern Vietnam is still unclear. We therefore performed a combination of the serologic assays H5N1 ELISA and H5 western blot to detect anti-H5N1 specific antibodies. Sera samples of 149 subjects with suspected H5N1 infection from three provinces of Northern Vietnam were collected from September 2006 to March 2007. Our results indicated that this combinational assay showed high sensitivity (100%) and specificity (95%) when compared with hemagglutinin inhibition (HI) assay. Fifty-one sera samples (34.2%) contained specific antibodies against H5N1 viruses. Poultry raisers (32/77; 41.6%) showed higher H5N1 infection rates than slaughterers (12/41; 29.3%) and health care workers (7/31; 22.6%). Contact history with sick or dead poultry in household or slaughter-house (p < 0.05) and lack of protective equipment use when in contact with dead poultry (p < 0.05) were risk factors found to be associated with H5N1 infection. In this study, we established an alternative serologic assay for H5N1 diagnosis, and we hereby present seroepidemiologic data of H5N1 infection in Northern Vietnam.
Highlights
The global spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) A H5N1 viruses in poultry and sporadic human infections are viewed as a potential pandemic threat [1]
Avian H5N1 infection was confirmed in part of the participants by hemagglutinin inhibition (HI) or micronutralization (MN) assays, which were performed by the Immunology and Molecular Biology Department, National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology, Vietnam
A total of 149 participants from three provinces of northern Vietnam were recruited in this study (Figure 1(a))
Summary
The global spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) A H5N1 viruses in poultry and sporadic human infections are viewed as a potential pandemic threat [1]. Reports have indicated that humans infected with the H5N1 virus were in close contact with infected dead birds [1,2,3]. The avian H5N1 influenza virus was first found to infect humans, causing disease and death, in 1997 in Hong Kong [10]. Reports indicated that influenza H5N1 outbreaks in poultry and humans in Vietnam between 2003 and 2005 were caused by clade 1 viruses [12]. Le et al [14] indicated that before May 2007, HPAI H5N1 viruses isolated from poultry and humans in Northern Vietnam were consistently reported to be clade 1 viruses. A recent study comparing different serological assays indicated that the combination of MN with WB assays or ELISA with WB assays showed maximum sensitivity and specificity in avian influenza A H5N1 virus infection [18]. To obtain a clearer picture of the H5N1 infection in humans in Northern Vietnam, we established a combination of H5N1 ELISA and H5 WB assays to screen the suspected H5N1 cases in northern Vietnam
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