Outbreak of variant influenza A(H3N2) virus in the United States.

Background: Variant influenza virus infections are rare but may have pandemic potential if person-to-person transmission is efficient. We describe the epidemiology of a multistate outbreak of an influenza A(H3N2) variant virus (H3N2v) first identified in 2011.

Methods: We identified laboratory-confirmed cases of H3N2v and used a standard case report form to characterize illness and exposures.

Concurrent 2009 pandemic influenza A (H1N1) virus infection in ferrets and in a community in Pennsylvania.

We report a fall 2010 cluster of pandemic influenza A/H1N1 (pH1N1) infections in pet ferrets in Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania. The ferrets were associated with one pet shop. The influenza cluster occurred during a period when the existing human surveillance systems had identified little to no pH1N1 in humans in the Lehigh Valley, and there were no routine influenza surveillance systems for exotic pets.

Risk of bloodborne pathogen exposure among Zambian healthcare workers.

Purpose: Understanding the risks of bloodborne pathogen transmission is fundamental to prioritizing interventions when resources are limited. This study investigated the risks to healthcare workers in Zambia.

Design: A survey was completed anonymously by a convenience sample of workers in three hospitals and two clinics in Zambia.