Individual Correlates of Infectivity of Influenza A Virus Infections in Households.
<h4>Background</h4>Identifying individual correlates of infectivity of influenza virus is important for disease control and prevention. Viral shedding is used as a proxy measure of infectivity in many studies. However, the evidence for this is limited.<h4>Methods</h4>In a det...
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2016-01-01
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| Series: | PLoS ONE |
| Online Access: | https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0154418&type=printable |
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| Summary: | <h4>Background</h4>Identifying individual correlates of infectivity of influenza virus is important for disease control and prevention. Viral shedding is used as a proxy measure of infectivity in many studies. However, the evidence for this is limited.<h4>Methods</h4>In a detailed study of influenza virus transmission within households in 2008-12, we recruited index cases with confirmed influenza infection from outpatient clinics, and followed up their household contacts for 7-10 days to identify secondary infections. We used individual-based hazard models to characterize the relationship between individual viral shedding and individual infectivity.<h4>Results</h4>We analyzed 386 households with 1147 household contacts. Index cases were separated into 3 groups according to their estimated level of viral shedding at symptom onset. We did not find a statistically significant association of virus shedding with transmission. Index cases in medium and higher viral shedding groups were estimated to have 21% (95% CI: -29%, 113%) and 44% (CI: -16%, 167%) higher infectivity, compared with those in the lower viral shedding group.<h4>Conclusions</h4>Individual viral load measured by RT-PCR in the nose and throat was at most weakly correlated with individual infectivity in households. Other correlates of infectivity should be examined in future studies. |
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| ISSN: | 1932-6203 |