24.08.2013

Emerg Infect Dis Vol. 19, No. 9, September 2013

In June 2012, outbreaks of (HPAI) A(H7N3) virus in poultry on farms throughout Jalisco State were reported by the National Service for Health, Safety, and Food Quality in Mexico. A 32-year-old poultry worker who reported irritation in her left eye was examined at a clinic in Jalisco on July 7. Bilateral conjunctival swab specimens were collected and sent to the Institute for Epidemiologic Diagnosis and Reference (InDRE) in Mexico City, where H7 subtype virus infection was confirmed by real-time reverse transcription PCR (RT-PCR). HPAI A(H7N3) virus had been suspected because the patient collected eggs on a farm that had had HPAI A (H7N3) virus infection among poultry. Several days later, a 52-year-old man, who was related to the first patient and worked on the same farm, visited a local clinic and reported conjunctivitis. Conjunctival swab specimens from this patient were also positive for H7 subtype virus infection by real-time RT-PCR. Both patients were treated symptomatically and recovered without sequelae. Genomic and antigenic analyses of 1 isolate indicated relatedness to poultry and wild bird subtype H7N3 viruses from North America. This isolate had a multibasic cleavage site that might have been derived from recombination with host rRNA.

 

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