Skip to main content
NCBI home page
Epidemiology and Infection logoLink to Epidemiology and Infection
. 1996 Aug;117(1):179–188. doi: 10.1017/s0950268800001291

An epidemiological study of influenza viruses among Chinese farm families with household ducks and pigs.

L L Shu 1, N N Zhou 1, G B Sharp 1, S Q He 1, T J Zhang 1, W W Zou 1, R G Webster 1
PMCID: PMC2271690  PMID: 8760967

Abstract

To examine the possibility of interspecies transmission and genetic reassortment of influenza viruses on farms in Southern China, we surveyed 20 farm families living outside the city of Nanchang who raised pigs and ducks in their homes. Weekly interviews of family members and virus isolation studies of throat swabs and faecal samples, collected from September 1992 to September 1993, established the seasonal pattern of respiratory tract infections in these families and identified 11 influenza viruses (6 in humans and 5 in ducks). Most of the human isolates were type A of H3N2 subtype. Serologic studies of farm pigs indicated infection by the same human viruses circulating in family members, but there was no evidence that either swine or avian viruses had been transmitted to pigs. Eight of 156 human serum samples inhibited the neuraminidase activity of two of the duck isolates, raising the possibility of interspecies transmission of these avian viruses. Genotype analysis of duck and human isolates provided no evidence for reassortment. Our finding support the concept that intermingling of humans, pigs and ducks on Chinese farms is favourable to the generation of new, potentially hazardous strains of influenza virus.

Full text

PDF
179

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Beare A. S., Webster R. G. Replication of avian influenza viruses in humans. Arch Virol. 1991;119(1-2):37–42. doi: 10.1007/BF01314321. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Castrucci M. R., Donatelli I., Sidoli L., Barigazzi G., Kawaoka Y., Webster R. G. Genetic reassortment between avian and human influenza A viruses in Italian pigs. Virology. 1993 Mar;193(1):503–506. doi: 10.1006/viro.1993.1155. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Fox J. P., Cooney M. K., Hall C. E., Foy H. M. Rhinoviruses in Seattle families, 1975-1979. Am J Epidemiol. 1985 Nov;122(5):830–846. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a114166. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Gorman O. T., Bean W. J., Kawaoka Y., Donatelli I., Guo Y. J., Webster R. G. Evolution of influenza A virus nucleoprotein genes: implications for the origins of H1N1 human and classical swine viruses. J Virol. 1991 Jul;65(7):3704–3714. doi: 10.1128/jvi.65.7.3704-3714.1991. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Gorman O. T., Bean W. J., Webster R. G. Evolutionary processes in influenza viruses: divergence, rapid evolution, and stasis. Curr Top Microbiol Immunol. 1992;176:75–97. doi: 10.1007/978-3-642-77011-1_6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Guo Y., Wang M., Kawaoka Y., Gorman O., Ito T., Saito T., Webster R. G. Characterization of a new avian-like influenza A virus from horses in China. Virology. 1992 May;188(1):245–255. doi: 10.1016/0042-6822(92)90754-d. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Hinshaw V. S., Bean W. J., Geraci J., Fiorelli P., Early G., Webster R. G. Characterization of two influenza A viruses from a pilot whale. J Virol. 1986 May;58(2):655–656. doi: 10.1128/jvi.58.2.655-656.1986. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Hinshaw V. S., Bean W. J., Jr, Webster R. G., Easterday B. C. The prevalence of influenza viruses in swine and the antigenic and genetic relatedness of influenza viruses from man and swine. Virology. 1978 Jan;84(1):51–62. doi: 10.1016/0042-6822(78)90217-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Hinshaw V. S., Bean W. J., Webster R. G., Rehg J. E., Fiorelli P., Early G., Geraci J. R., St Aubin D. J. Are seals frequently infected with avian influenza viruses? J Virol. 1984 Sep;51(3):863–865. doi: 10.1128/jvi.51.3.863-865.1984. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Kawaoka Y., Krauss S., Webster R. G. Avian-to-human transmission of the PB1 gene of influenza A viruses in the 1957 and 1968 pandemics. J Virol. 1989 Nov;63(11):4603–4608. doi: 10.1128/jvi.63.11.4603-4608.1989. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Krishnan B. R., Blakesley R. W., Berg D. E. Linear amplification DNA sequencing directly from single phage plaques and bacterial colonies. Nucleic Acids Res. 1991 Mar 11;19(5):1153–1153. doi: 10.1093/nar/19.5.1153. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Kundin W. D. Hong Kong A-2 influenza virus infection among swine during a human epidemic in Taiwan. Nature. 1970 Nov 28;228(5274):857–857. doi: 10.1038/228857a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Lin Y. P., Shu L. L., Wright S., Bean W. J., Sharp G. B., Shortridge K. F., Webster R. G. Analysis of the influenza virus gene pool of avian species from southern China. Virology. 1994 Feb;198(2):557–566. doi: 10.1006/viro.1994.1067. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Lvov D. K., Zdanov V. M., Sazonov A. A., Braude N. A., Vladimirtceva E. A., Agafonova L. V., Skljanskaja E. I., Kaverin N. V., Reznik V. I., Pysina T. V. Comparison of influenza viruses isolated from man and from whales. Bull World Health Organ. 1978;56(6):923–930. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Parkinson A. J., Muchmore H. G., Scott L. V., Kalmakoff J., Miles J. A. Parainfluenzavirus upper respiratory tract illnesses in partially immune adult human subjects: a study at an Antarctic station. Am J Epidemiol. 1979 Dec;110(6):753–763. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a112857. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Rota P. A., Rocha E. P., Harmon M. W., Hinshaw V. S., Sheerar M. G., Kawaoka Y., Cox N. J., Smith T. F. Laboratory characterization of a swine influenza virus isolated from a fatal case of human influenza. J Clin Microbiol. 1989 Jun;27(6):1413–1416. doi: 10.1128/jcm.27.6.1413-1416.1989. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Scholtissek C., Rohde W., Von Hoyningen V., Rott R. On the origin of the human influenza virus subtypes H2N2 and H3N2. Virology. 1978 Jun 1;87(1):13–20. doi: 10.1016/0042-6822(78)90153-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Shortridge K. F. Pandemic influenza: a zoonosis? Semin Respir Infect. 1992 Mar;7(1):11–25. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Shortridge K. F., Stuart-Harris C. H. An influenza epicentre? Lancet. 1982 Oct 9;2(8302):812–813. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(82)92693-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Shu L. L., Lin Y. P., Wright S. M., Shortridge K. F., Webster R. G. Evidence for interspecies transmission and reassortment of influenza A viruses in pigs in southern China. Virology. 1994 Aug 1;202(2):825–833. doi: 10.1006/viro.1994.1404. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Webster R. G., Bean W. J., Gorman O. T., Chambers T. M., Kawaoka Y. Evolution and ecology of influenza A viruses. Microbiol Rev. 1992 Mar;56(1):152–179. doi: 10.1128/mr.56.1.152-179.1992. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Webster R. G., Geraci J., Petursson G., Skirnisson K. Conjunctivitis in human beings caused by influenza A virus of seals. N Engl J Med. 1981 Apr 9;304(15):911–911. doi: 10.1056/NEJM198104093041515. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Webster R. G., Guo Y. J. New influenza virus in horses. Nature. 1991 Jun 13;351(6327):527–527. doi: 10.1038/351527a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  24. Webster R. G., Laver W. G. The origin of pandemic influenza. Bull World Health Organ. 1972;47(4):449–452. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  25. Wells D. L., Hopfensperger D. J., Arden N. H., Harmon M. W., Davis J. P., Tipple M. A., Schonberger L. B. Swine influenza virus infections. Transmission from ill pigs to humans at a Wisconsin agricultural fair and subsequent probable person-to-person transmission. JAMA. 1991 Jan 23;265(4):478–481. doi: 10.1001/jama.265.4.478. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  26. Wright S. M., Kawaoka Y., Sharp G. B., Senne D. A., Webster R. G. Interspecies transmission and reassortment of influenza A viruses in pigs and turkeys in the United States. Am J Epidemiol. 1992 Aug 15;136(4):488–497. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a116522. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Epidemiology and Infection are provided here courtesy of Cambridge University Press

RESOURCES