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Increased risk of A(H1N1)pdm09 influenza infection in UK pig industry workers compared to a general population cohort.

Fragaszy, E; Ishola, DA; Brown, IH; Enstone, J; Nguyen-Van-Tam, JS; Simons, R; Tucker, AW; ... Wood, JL; + view all (2016) Increased risk of A(H1N1)pdm09 influenza infection in UK pig industry workers compared to a general population cohort. Influenza and Other Respiratory Viruses , 10 (4) pp. 291-300. 10.1111/irv.12364. Green open access

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Abstract

BACKGROUND: Pigs are mixing vessels for influenza viral reassortment but the extent of influenza transmission between swine and humans is not well understood. OBJECTIVES: To assess whether occupational exposure to pigs is a risk factor for human infection with human and swine-adapted influenza viruses. METHODS: UK pig industry workers were frequency-matched on age, region, sampling month, and gender with a community-based comparison group from the Flu Watch study. HI assays quantified antibodies for swine and human A(H1) and A(H3) influenza viruses (titres≥40 considered seropositive and indicative of infection). Virus-specific associations between seropositivity and occupational pig exposure were examined using multivariable regression models adjusted for vaccination. Pigs on the same farms were also tested for seropositivity. RESULTS: 42% of pigs were seropositive to A(H1N1)pdm09. Pig industry workers showed evidence of increased odds of A(H1N1)pdm09 seropositivity compared to the comparison group, albeit with wide confidence intervals (CI), Adjusted Odds Ratio after accounting for possible cross reactivity with other swine A(H1) viruses (aOR) 25.3, 95% CI [1.4-536.3], p=0.028. CONCLUSION: The results indicate that A(H1N1)pdm09 virus was common in UK pigs during the pandemic and subsequent period of human A(H1N1)pdm09 circulation, and occupational exposure to pigs was a risk factor for human infection. Influenza immunization of pig industry workers may reduce transmission and the potential for virus reassortment. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Type: Article
Title: Increased risk of A(H1N1)pdm09 influenza infection in UK pig industry workers compared to a general population cohort.
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1111/irv.12364
Publisher version: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/irv.12364
Language: English
Additional information: © 2015 The Authors. Influenza and Other Respiratory Viruses Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Keywords: Humans, Influenza, Occupational Exposure, Serology, Swine, Zoonoses
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > Institute of Epidemiology and Health
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > Institute of Epidemiology and Health > Epidemiology and Public Health
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > Institute of Health Informatics
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1476703
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