Viral Shedding in Children with Pandemic A/H1N1/2009 Influenza
Author Information
Author(s): Susanna Esposito, Cristina Daleno, Fausto Baldanti, Alessia Scala, Giulia Campanini, Francesca Taroni, Emilio Fossali, Claudio Pelucchi, Nicola Principi
Primary Institution: Università degli Studi di Milano
Hypothesis
How long do children with pandemic A/H1N1/2009 influenza shed the virus?
Conclusion
Healthy children can shed the pandemic A/H1N1/2009 influenza virus for up to two weeks after illness onset.
Supporting Evidence
- All children were positive for the virus in the first three days after infection.
- Only 21.6% and 13.5% remained positive after 11 and 15 days, respectively.
- Households of children shedding the virus for ≥ 9 days had a higher incidence of influenza-like illness.
Takeaway
Sick kids can spread the flu virus for a long time, even after they start feeling better, so they might need to stay away from others longer than usual.
Methodology
Nasopharyngeal swabs were taken for virus detection upon hospital admission and every two days until negative.
Potential Biases
Potential bias due to the exclusion of children with severe complications.
Limitations
The study only included otherwise healthy children and did not account for those with underlying conditions.
Participant Demographics
Children aged less than 15 years, with a mean age of 5.2 years, including 36 males.
Statistical Information
P-Value
p<0.05
Statistical Significance
p<0.05
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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