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Volume 13, Number 2—February 2007
Dispatch

No Evidence of Avian Influenza A H5N1 among Returning US Travelers

Justin R. Ortiz*Comments to Author , Teresa R. Wallis*, Mark A. Katz*, LaShondra S. Berman*, Amanda Balish*, Stephen E. Lindstrom*, Vic Veguilla*, Kathryn S. Teates*, Jacqueline M. Katz*, Alexander Klimov*, and Timothy M. Uyeki*
Author affiliations: *Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA;

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Table

Characteristics of cases referred to CDC for assessment of H5N1 infection*

Case-patient characteristics (n = 59)No. (%)
Met CDC suspect H5N1 case definition27 (46)
   Met hospitalized case definition criteria14 (24)
   Met ambulatory case definition criteria13 (22)
Bird proximity <1 m14 (24)
Direct bird contact0
Contact with confirmed human H5N1 case0
Onset outside US influenza season7 (12)
Outcome
   Hospitalized20 (34)
   Deceased4 (7)
Diagnosis†
   No28 (47)
      Negative influenza test result but ILI and influenza A (H3)–positive contact8 (14)
   Human influenza A (H3)23 (39)
   Human influenza A (H1N1)1 (2)
   Human Influenza A by rapid antigen test‡1 (2)
   Community-acquired pneumonia2 (3)
   Bronchiolitis obliterans and organizing pneumonia1 (2)
   Lymphoma1 (2)
   Rickettsial typhus1 (2)
   Toxic shock syndrome1 (2)
Country visited§¶
   People’s Republic of China21 (36)
   Vietnam18 (31)
   Thailand11 (19)
   South Korea5 (8)
   Taiwan3 (5)
   Cambodia2 (3)
   Other#6 (10)
   No foreign travel4 (7)
   Unknown travel history2 (3)

*CDC, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; ILI, influenzalike illness.
†Sum of percentages >100% due to rounding.
‡Clinical diagnosis of human influenza. The patient was reported to CDC for suspected H5N1 virus infection but was determined to lack risk factors to warrant H5N1-specific testing.
§Not mutually exclusive.
¶As of June 15, 2006, highly pathogenic avian influenza A H5N1 has not been confirmed by the World Health Organization or World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) in Saipan, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, and Taiwan (1). Japan was declared free of H5N1 by OIE on July 12, 2004 (1), 13 mo before the visit by a reported patient. South Korea was declared free of H5N1 (1) at the time of a visit by a reported patient.
#One each for Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Saipan, Singapore, and Saudi Arabia.

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References
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Page created: June 29, 2010
Page updated: June 29, 2010
Page reviewed: June 29, 2010
The conclusions, findings, and opinions expressed by authors contributing to this journal do not necessarily reflect the official position of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Public Health Service, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or the authors' affiliated institutions. Use of trade names is for identification only and does not imply endorsement by any of the groups named above.
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