The rapid diagnosis of avian influenza (H7N9) virus infection outside China and Taiwan in a Chinese tourist traveling to Sabah, Malaysia, highlights the value of a high index of suspicion by medical staff, awareness and adherence to national guidelines, and good laboratory services (4). The clinical features of the patient were similar to those previously reported from China: median age of affected persons was 61 years, and >80% of patients reported exposure to live poultry and experienced pneumonia or respiratory failure (7). Virus was detected by reverse transcription PCR after the patient had received oseltamivir for 2 weeks, as has been reported (6), although the significance of prolonged detection is unclear because the patient’s clinical condition improved markedly, no oseltamivir resistance mutations were found (4), and virus persistence may have be associated with steroid use. The patient’s condition deteriorated after taking oseltamivir 1 week after symptom onset and ventilatory requirements increased, possibly because of secondary S. aureus infection, a well-known complication of influenza (8). The patient was given methylprednisolone after a week of hospitalization; although she subsequently improved, it was unclear if this was in response to the antimicrobial drugs, the corticosteroids, or the natural course of the infection. Anecdotal reports describe clinical improvement of a patient in Taiwan with influenza (H7N9) pneumonia after receipt of corticosteroids (9), but such improvement has not been supported by larger studies of influenza (H7N9) patients (3) or studies of adults in Vietnam infected with avian influenza (H5N1) virus (10,11).
The rapid diagnosis of avian influenza (H7N9) virus infection outside China and Taiwan in a Chinese tourist traveling to Sabah, Malaysia, highlights the value of a high index of suspicion by medical staff, awareness and adherence to national guidelines, and good laboratory services (4). The clinical features of the patient were similar to those previously reported from China: median age of affected persons was 61 years, and >80% of patients reported exposure to live poultry and experienced pneumonia or respiratory failure (7). Virus was detected by reverse transcription PCR after the patient had received oseltamivir for 2 weeks, as has been reported (6), although the significance of prolonged detection is unclear because the patient’s clinical condition improved markedly, no oseltamivir resistance mutations were found (4), and virus persistence may have be associated with steroid use. The patient’s condition deteriorated after taking oseltamivir 1 week after symptom onset and ventilatory requirements increased, possibly because of secondary S. aureus infection, a well-known complication of influenza (8). The patient was given methylprednisolone after a week of hospitalization; although she subsequently improved, it was unclear if this was in response to the antimicrobial drugs, the corticosteroids, or the natural course of the infection. Anecdotal reports describe clinical improvement of a patient in Taiwan with influenza (H7N9) pneumonia after receipt of corticosteroids (9), but such improvement has not been supported by larger studies of influenza (H7N9) patients (3) or studies of adults in Vietnam infected with avian influenza (H5N1) virus (10,11).
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