Pathogenesis
Virulence Factors
Several unusual features of the pH1N1 2009 virus include the following (Writing Committee of the WHO Consultation on Clinical Aspects of Pandemic H1N1 2009 Influenza):
The virus shows increased ex vivo replication in human bronchial epithelium at 33°C compared with seasonal influenza strains.
The virus shows increased replication in ex vivo human lung tissue.
The virus targets type I and type II pneumocytes (which line the alveoli of the lungs).
Pathologic Features
Early changes include vascular congestion; alveolar hemorrhage also can occur.
A report of autopsy tissue samples from 100 fatal cases of pH1N1 2009 virus infection showed the following major findings (Shieh 2010):
The most prominent histopathological feature observed was viral pneumonia associated with diffuse alveolar damage.
Alveolar lining cells, including type I and type II pneumocytes, were the primary infected cells.
Bacterial co-infections were identified in >25% of the patients.
Another study of autopsy findings from 21 Brazilian patients with confirmed pH1N1 2009 infection showed (Mauad 2010):
Diffuse alveolar damage was present in 20 patients.
Diffuse alveolar damage was associated with necrotizing bronchiolitis in six patients and extensive hemorrhage in five patients.
A cytopathic effect was noted in the bronchial and alveolar epithelial cells, as well as necrosis, epithelial hyperplasia, and squamous metaplasia of the large airways.
Investigators in Norway found that a specific mutation in the viral HA (D222G) of pH1N1 2009 was associated with increased frequency in severe fatal cases; this mutation was not found in clinically mild cases (Kilander 2010).