Since February 2013, a novel avian influenza virus, A (H7N9),
has infected more than 130 individuals
in the People’s Republic of China and Taiwan. At least 44 of these infected
individuals have died. In a current article
in the journal Respiratory Care, Chinese medical specialists report on the case-patient details of the first officially confirmed case from March 2013.[1] Even with treatment, The 87-year-old man died a
few days after admission to the hospital on March 4, 2013.
The authors state
. . . we identified the world’s first human case of avian
influenza A H7N9 virus infection. When we first admitted this patient, there
were no health care guidelines that we could follow. Even in the absence of a definite
diagnosis of influenza infection, we actively carried out isolation protection
in accordance with the standard hospital
infection-protection
protocols while closely coordinating the activities of
different departments and ensuring the protection of the medical supplies.
In addition, we
organized the training
for respiratory infectious disease protection
in the nursing
department. We believe
that first-line health
care providers should be
highly aware of
the appropriate
infection-prevention measures before determining
whether the pathogen
has the capability
for human-to-human transmission.
This individual is a member of a family cluster identified as
the Shanghai Family Cluster.[2] The two
sons of this man were retrospectively reported as a confirmed and suspected
case. Based on the onset dates, the son who died on February 28th
may have been the index case in this cluster.
Each novel disease outbreak starts with an officially
confirmed initial case. If A(H7N9) becomes a pandemic virus, the article in Respiratory Care will be one of the first
footnotes in a future history of such a pandemic.
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