Mild infection of a novel H7N9 avian influenza virus in children in Shanghai

Yu, Xuelian; Zhang, Xi; He, Yi; Wu, Huanyu; Gao, Xia; Pan, Qichao; Shen, Jiaren; Zhu, Jianming; Chen, Hongyou; Zhu, Yiyi; Wu, Fan; Wang, Jianwei; Yuan, Zhengan

A pathological chest radiograph was performed for one mild and all severe and fatal H7N9-infected cases. The X-ray film of the mild patient revealed clear lung texture. All severe patients had abnormal *These authors contributed equally to this paper. initial radiographic findings similar to severe patients infected with A(H1N1)pdm/09, AIV H5N1 12 or severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus. The predominant radiographic finding was patchy consolidation (five severe and eight fatal), most commonly in the lower (five severe and six fatal) and central lung zones (two severe and eight fatal). Two severe and six fatal cases involved o3 lung zones. Pleural effusion was observed in two severe and three fatal cases. The computed tomography values of the H7N9 real-time RT-PCR assay in upper respiratory tract exudates from mild, severe and dead patients were similar. Because the computed tomography values correlate with Mild H7N9 patients in Shanghai X Yu et al 2 the viral loads in samples, the viral loads in the upper respiratory tract exudates of mild H7N9-infected patients were assumed not to be different from the severe H7N9-infected patients. In Shanghai, both mild patients experiencing upper respiratory tract infections and all severe patients suffering from pneumonia, suggesting that the severe patients may seldom clear viral particles from the upper respiratory tract.