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. 2013 Sep 25;8(9):e75339.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0075339. eCollection 2013.

Influenza transmission in a cohort of households with children: 2010-2011

Joshua G Petrie  1 , Suzanne E Ohmit, Benjamin J Cowling, Emileigh Johnson, Rachel T Cross, Ryan E Malosh, Mark G Thompson, Arnold S Monto
Affiliations

Influenza transmission in a cohort of households with children: 2010-2011

Joshua G Petrie et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Background: Households play a major role in community spread of influenza and are potential targets for mitigation strategies.

Methods: We enrolled and followed 328 households with children during the 2010-2011 influenza season; this season was characterized by circulation of influenza A (H3N2), A (H1N1)pdm09 and type B viruses. Specimens were collected from subjects with acute respiratory illnesses and tested for influenza in real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assays. Influenza cases were classified as community-acquired or household-acquired, and transmission parameters estimated.

Results: Influenza was introduced to 78 (24%) households and transmission to exposed household members was documented in 23 households. Transmission was more likely in younger households (mean age <22 years) and those not reporting home humidification, but was not associated with household vaccination coverage. The secondary infection risk (overall 9.7%) was highest among young children (<9 years) and varied substantially by influenza type/subtype with the highest risk for influenza A (H3N2). The serial interval (overall 3.2 days) also varied by influenza type and was longest for influenza B. Duration of symptomatic illness was shorter in children compared with adults, and did not differ by influenza vaccination status.

Discussion: Prospective study of households with children over a single influenza season identified differences in household transmission by influenza type/subtype, subject age, and home humidification, suggesting possible targets for interventions to reduce transmission.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: Dr. Cowling receives consulting fees from Crucell MV. Dr. Monto receives consulting fees from Novartis and GSK. There are no patents, products in development or marketed products to declare. This does not alter the authors' adherence to all the PLOS ONE policies on sharing data and materials.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Number of specimens collected and number of influenza positive cases by week during 15 week period of influenza circulationa,b: the Household Influenza Vaccine Effectiveness (HIVE) study, Ann Arbor Michigan, 2010–2011 influenza season.
Footnotes: a Week ending January 1, 2011 through week ending April 9, 2011. b 465 (32%) individuals from 193 (59%) households reported 605 acute respiratory illnesses and 580 (96%) specimens were collected. All specimens were tested for influenza viruses by reverse-transcriptase real-time polymerase chain reaction assay and 130 (22%) were determined to be positive for influenza, including 59 (45%) type A (H3N2), 44 (34%) type B, 26 (20%) type A (H1N1) pdm09 (pH1N1) and 1 (1%) type B/ type A (pH1N1) co-infection.
Figure 2
Figure 2. Days from influenza illness onset to resolution of symptoms by age and influenza vaccination: the Household Influenza Vaccine Effectiveness (HIVE) study, Ann Arbor Michigan, 2010-2011 influenza season.
Footnotes: + Censored observations. * P-value from Log-Rank test.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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