Transmission of H7N7 avian influenza A virus to human beings during a large outbreak in commercial poultry farms in the Netherlands
The Lancet·
- DOI
- 10.1016/s0140-6736(04)15589-x
- PMID
- 14987882
- PMCID
- —
- OpenAlex
- W2122385379
- Study type
- Outbreak investigation
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Article type
- journal-article
- Integrity
- current
Why this research matters now
The authors highlight the importance of adequate surveillance, outbreak preparedness, and pandemic planning, given the unexpectedly high number of zoonotic transmissions and evidence of person-to-person spread.
Structured evidence summary
Research question
The study investigated the extent of transmission of highly pathogenic H7N7 avian influenza A virus from infected poultry to people during a 2003 outbreak in the Netherlands.
Study design
This was an outbreak investigation in which poultry workers, farmers, and their families were invited to report symptoms, and those with complaints were tested for A/H7 infection and completed a health questionnaire.
Population and setting
The setting was commercial poultry farms in the Netherlands during an H7N7 outbreak beginning in late February 2003, and the population comprised poultry workers, poultry farmers, and their family members.
Main findings
Of 453 people reporting health complaints, A/H7 was detected in conjunctival samples from 78 (26.4%) with conjunctivitis only, 5 (9.4%) with influenza-like illness and conjunctivitis, 2 (5.4%) with influenza-like illness only, and 4 (6%) with other symptoms. A/H7 infection was confirmed in three of 83 tested contacts, including one who developed influenza-like illness, and six people had influenza A/H3N2 infection. More than half (56%) of A/H7 infections were identified before mandatory vaccination and oseltamivir prophylaxis were implemented.
Public-health relevance
The authors highlight the importance of adequate surveillance, outbreak preparedness, and pandemic planning, given the unexpectedly high number of zoonotic transmissions and evidence of person-to-person spread.
Important limitations
The abstract does not explicitly state limitations of the study. This summary is limited to the supplied single-article abstract and bibliographic metadata and requires review of the original paper for decision-grade interpretation.
GIDS interpretation
The paper is discoverable through GIDS classifiers linking it to avian influenza, the Netherlands, and topics such as outbreak investigation, transmission dynamics, surveillance, vaccination, and treatment, providing contextual metadata for retrieval rather than confirming any live surveillance signal.
Related GIDS surveillance
Literature context does not validate, explain, or change a surveillance signal. Exact and contextual relationships are shown separately.
Evidence relationships
This article has 15 auditable classifier relationships to diseases, places, topics, and study design.