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Little evidence of human infection with equine influenza during the 2007 epizootic, Queensland, Australia.
Abstract: Equine influenza virus (EIV) is considered enzootic in Europe (except Iceland), Asia, North Africa, and North and South America. When EIV outbreaks occur they may severely impact the equine and tourist industries. Australia faced its first EIV outbreak beginning in August of 2007. The outbreak was concentrated in New South Wales and Queensland, with more than 1400 confirmed EIV infections in horses during the first month. Rapid response from the equine industry and the federal government was successful and Australia was declared free from EIV by the end of 2007. Objective: This cross-sectional study was designed to examine associations between exposure to EIV-infected horses and evidence of EIV infection in humans. Methods: Employing informed consent, between October 2007 and April 2008, 100 subjects (89 with horse exposures and 11 non-exposed) were enrolled during equine events and at the University of the Sunshine Coast. All subjects provided a blood sample and were asked to complete an online questionnaire including health history, animal exposure and demographic information. Sera samples were tested for the presence of antibodies against two H3N8 EIV strains using microneutralization, hemagglutination inhibition, and enzyme-linked lectin assays. Results: Evidence for H3N8 infection was sparse, with only 9 study participants having any indication of H3N8 infection and the seroreactivity seen was low and easily explained by cross-reactions against human influenza strains or vaccines. Conclusions: These data provide little evidence to support the premise that EIV infections occurred among humans exposed to EIV-infected horses during the 2007 Australian epizootic.
Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Publication Date: 2013-12-06 PubMed ID: 24360918DOI: 10.1016/j.jcv.2013.11.011Google Scholar: Lookup The Equine Research Bank provides access to a large database of publicly available scientific literature. Inclusion in the Research Bank does not imply endorsement of study methods or findings by Mad Barn.
- Journal Article
- Research Support
- N.I.H.
- Extramural
- Research Support
- U.S. Gov't
- Non-P.H.S.
Summary
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The research investigates the likelihood of human infection by equine influenza virus (EIV) during the 2007 outbreak in Australia. The results suggest that humans were not significantly infected by EIV even when exposed to infected horses.
Objective and Methods
The research was conducted with the main objective of determining whether there was a link between humans’ exposure to EIV-infected horses and evidence of EIV infection in humans. For this purpose, the researchers carried out a cross-sectional study. An informed consent process was followed, and one hundred subjects were enrolled between October 2007 and April 2008 during equine events and at the University of the Sunshine Coast. Out of these, 89 were reported to have exposure to horses, while 11 did not have any exposure.
- The subjects provided a blood sample and also filled an online questionnaire that sought information about their health history, their exposure to animals, and demographic details.
- The blood samples were tested for the presence of antibodies against two H3N8 EIV strains.
- The testing methods for this serological analysis included microneutralization, hemagglutination inhibition, and enzyme-linked lectin assays.
Results and Conclusion
The results of the study showed that the evidence of H3N8 infection was sparse among the participants.
- Only nine participants exhibited any indication of H3N8 infection.
- These indications (seroreactivity) were low and could be construed as cross-reactions against human influenza strains or currents vaccines rather than due to EIV.
Based on these outcomes, the study concluded that the data did not convincingly point towards humans being infected with EIV from horses during the 2007 Australian EIV outbreak. As such, the premise that humans exposed to EIV-infected horses during the outbreak would also become infected was not supported by the evidence in this study.
Cite This Article
APA
Burnell FJ, Holmes MA, Roiko AH, Lowe JB, Heil GL, White SK, Gray GC.
(2013).
Little evidence of human infection with equine influenza during the 2007 epizootic, Queensland, Australia.
J Clin Virol, 59(2), 100-103.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcv.2013.11.011 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- School of Health & Sport Sciences, Faculty of Science, Health, Education, & Engineering, University of the Sunshine Coast, Maroochydore, Australia.
- School of Health & Sport Sciences, Faculty of Science, Health, Education, & Engineering, University of the Sunshine Coast, Maroochydore, Australia.
- School of Health & Sport Sciences, Faculty of Science, Health, Education, & Engineering, University of the Sunshine Coast, Maroochydore, Australia.
- School of Health & Sport Sciences, Faculty of Science, Health, Education, & Engineering, University of the Sunshine Coast, Maroochydore, Australia.
- College of Public Health and Health Professions, and Emerging Pathogens Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA.
- College of Public Health and Health Professions, and Emerging Pathogens Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA.
- College of Public Health and Health Professions, and Emerging Pathogens Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA. Electronic address: gcgray@phhp.ufl.edu.
MeSH Terms
- Adolescent
- Adult
- Animals
- Antibodies, Viral / blood
- Blood / immunology
- Cross-Sectional Studies
- Hemagglutination Inhibition Tests
- Horse Diseases / epidemiology
- Horse Diseases / transmission
- Horse Diseases / virology
- Horses
- Humans
- Influenza A Virus, H3N8 Subtype / immunology
- Influenza, Human / epidemiology
- Influenza, Human / virology
- Neutralization Tests
- Orthomyxoviridae Infections / epidemiology
- Orthomyxoviridae Infections / transmission
- Orthomyxoviridae Infections / veterinary
- Orthomyxoviridae Infections / virology
- Queensland / epidemiology
- Seroepidemiologic Studies
- Surveys and Questionnaires
- Young Adult
- Zoonoses / epidemiology
- Zoonoses / virology
Grant Funding
- R01 AI068803 / NIAID NIH HHS
Citations
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- Gonzalez-Obando J, Forero JE, Zuluaga-Cabrera AM, Ruiz-Saenz J. Equine Influenza Virus: An Old Known Enemy in the Americas. Vaccines (Basel) 2022 Oct 14;10(10).
- Whitlock F, Murcia PR, Newton JR. A Review on Equine Influenza from a Human Influenza Perspective. Viruses 2022 Jun 15;14(6).
- Kessler S, Harder TC, Schwemmle M, Ciminski K. Influenza A Viruses and Zoonotic Events-Are We Creating Our Own Reservoirs?. Viruses 2021 Nov 9;13(11).
- Singh RK, Dhama K, Karthik K, Khandia R, Munjal A, Khurana SK, Chakraborty S, Malik YS, Virmani N, Singh R, Tripathi BN, Munir M, van der Kolk JH. A Comprehensive Review on Equine Influenza Virus: Etiology, Epidemiology, Pathobiology, Advances in Developing Diagnostics, Vaccines, and Control Strategies. Front Microbiol 2018;9:1941.
- Harris KA, Freidl GS, Munoz OS, von Dobschuetz S, De Nardi M, Wieland B, Koopmans MPG, Stärk KDC, van Reeth K, Dauphin G, Meijer A, de Bruin E, Capua I, Hill AA, Kosmider R, Banks J, Stevens K, van der Werf S, Enouf V, van der Meulen K, Brown IH, Alexander DJ, Breed AC. Epidemiological Risk Factors for Animal Influenza A Viruses Overcoming Species Barriers. Ecohealth 2017 Jun;14(2):342-360.
- Xie T, Anderson BD, Daramragchaa U, Chuluunbaatar M, Gray GC. A Review of Evidence that Equine Influenza Viruses Are Zoonotic. Pathogens 2016 Jul 12;5(3).
- Parrish CR, Murcia PR, Holmes EC. Influenza virus reservoirs and intermediate hosts: dogs, horses, and new possibilities for influenza virus exposure of humans. J Virol 2015 Mar;89(6):2990-4.
- Baz M, Paskel M, Matsuoka Y, Zengel J, Cheng X, Treanor JJ, Jin H, Subbarao K. A live attenuated equine H3N8 influenza vaccine is highly immunogenic and efficacious in mice and ferrets. J Virol 2015 Feb;89(3):1652-9.
- Branda F, Yon DK, Albanese M, Binetti E, Giovanetti M, Ciccozzi A, Ciccozzi M, Scarpa F, Ceccarelli G. Equine Influenza: Epidemiology, Pathogenesis, and Strategies for Prevention and Control. Viruses 2025 Feb 21;17(3).
- Chambers TM. Equine Influenza. Cold Spring Harb Perspect Med 2022 Jan 4;12(1).
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