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Commentary
Increasing
Hospitalizations In Manitoba Raise trH3N2 Concerns
Recombinomics
Commentary 21:45
December 10, 2010
Hospitalizations: 4 6
ICU Admissions: 1 3
Deaths: 1* 2
Strain Characterization: Since September 1st, 2010, National Microbiology Laboratory (NML) reports that it has antigenically characterized 1 influenza virus that was received from CPL. The
Influenza A/H3N2 virus characterized by NML was antigenically related to A/Perth/16/2009-like.
The above comments are from the week 48 influenza report from Manitoba, confirming additional hospitalizations and deaths as well as a lack of additional antigenic characterization data. To date all subtypes from Manitoba have been H3N2. However, sub-typing analysis would not distinguish between a contemporary seasonal H3N2 and a trH3N2, which have season H3 from the 1990’s. Sequencing or antigenic characterization data would distinguish the two, but the only reported characterization data is for a child from Norman, who was infected in week 39 and summarized above.
Thus, the cause of the deaths and hospitalizations for the patients from Garden Hill remains unclear. Once again the majority of cases in Manitoba come from the Burntwood Area, even though Garden Hill has only 4200 residents.
The distribution of cases in week 48 was somewhat broader than week 47, but Burtnwood again accounted for most of the cases in the province and again more than twice as many cases as Winnipeg, which has a much larger population.
The failure to report any additional antigenic characterization data, continues to raise concerns that the characterization of the H3N2 in Burntwood as seasonal H3N2 is in error.
Antigenic characterization and sequence data from the area are overdue.
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