Avian Influenza Prevention and Control Manual

Author: Capital Medical University, Beijing Center for Disease Control and Prevention, People's Liberation Army Hospital No. 309
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-02-01
Features: The diagnosis of avian influenza primarily relies on epidemiology and clinical manifestations, with confirmation dependent on virus isolation, viral antigen detection, and serum antibody testing. Epidemiological history includes whether the individual has been to an epidemic area, had close contact with poultry, or had close contact with avian influenza patients. Suspected avian influenza should be considered if flu-like symptoms appear within one week and persistent high fever (>39°C) occurs. Virus isolation, viral antigen detection, and serum antibody testing are important methods for diagnosing avian influenza. Patients with positive results in the direct immunofluorescence method using monoclonal antibodies specific to influenza A virus and H5 subtype, or those with positive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) results in respiratory specimens (nasopharyngeal or tracheal aspirates), should be classified as suspected cases. Confirmation of avian influenza can be achieved if influenza A(H5N1) virus is isolated from respiratory specimens (throat swabs, nasopharyngeal or tracheal aspirates, sputum, or lung tissue), if serum microneutralization tests detect positive antibodies to influenza A(H5N1), or if reverse transcription PCR (RT-PCR) for the hemagglutinin gene specific to influenza A(H5N1) detects positive results in respiratory specimens.