ETIDIOH - NEW

Abstract We conducted genomic surveillance of seasonal influenza during the 2022-2023 northern hemisphere flu season on a large university setting in Southwest Arizona USA to understand the diversity, evolution, and spread within a local environment and how it relates to national data. Through high-throughput sequencing and bioinformatics, we identified 100 positive samples (19%) from 516 clinical swabs collected at the student health clinic. We observed a dominance of subtype A(H3N2) which was consistent nationally for the 2022-2023 season. However, we found stark differences when examining subtype-specific H3 clades , which included an early dominance of clade 2a.3a.1 variants contrasting from country-level data in which 2b variants were most abundant. These variants might have contributed to the early seasonal peak on campus which lagged national trends by one month. We used phylodynamics to understand the timing, source, and impact of clade-specific introductions on campus and obse...

 Source: US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,  LINK  <||> {Excerpt} Two probable cases of influenza A(H5) virus infection were reported to CDC this week by the Arizona Department of Health Services. To date, human-to-human transmission of influenza A(H5) virus has not been identified in the United States. These cases occurred among two adult workers, ≥ 18 years of age, performing depopulation activities at a commercial poultry facility where highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) A(H5N1) virus had been detected. While being monitored by local public health, these patients developed illness during the weeks ending November 23 and November 30, respectively. Both patients reported respiratory symptoms . One patient also reported conjunctivitis . Specimens were collected from the patients and initially tested positive with high CT values at public health laboratories using the CDC influenza A(H5) assay. The specimens were negative for influenza A(H5) virus...