tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
To the editor: In their recent paper, Thompson et al. describe the detection of influenza A(H3N2) viruses belonging to the emergent clade 3C.2a in oral fluid from a subset of children in England with a clinical diagnosis of mumps from December 2014 to February 2015 [1]. We conducted influenza testing of mumps virus-negative specimens without age restriction in British Columbia (BC), Canada, in response to reports of unexpected numbers of influenza-associated parotitis in the United States during the 2014/15 influenza season [2], and unusual mumps-like illness in BC also temporally associated with the influenza season.
The BC Public Health Microbiology and Reference Laboratory (PHMRL) conducts all diagnostic testing for mumps virus in BC. A total of 122 specimens collected between 1 September 2014 and 17 February 2015 were submitted to the BC PHMRL with a request for mumps virus testing and were negative by real-time reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Although details on clinical presentation were not systematically collected, all cases presented with symptoms that prompted the clinician to request diagnostic testing for mumps. Further patient details, including immunisation status, were not obtained.
All of these specimens were re-tested for influenza A virus, influenza B virus and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) using an in-house RT-PCR multiplex assay [3]. Testing for other non-influenza or non-RSV respiratory viruses was not undertaken.
Of the 122 mumps virus RT-PCR-negative specimens, 16 (13%), comprising 15 buccal swabs and one throat swab, were positive for influenza A virus, comparable to the 15% positivity reported by Thompson et al. [1] but higher than the 7% reported by Shepherd et al. in their cohort of patients in Scotland [4]. The latter difference may reflect variation in the date of collection of mumps virus-negative specimens included in the analysis in relation to the timing, mix and intensity of influenza and other respiratory virus circulation regionally. One (1%) mumps virus-negative specimen in BC was positive for RSV.
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http://www.eurosurveillance.org/ViewArticle.aspx?ArticleId=21239
The BC Public Health Microbiology and Reference Laboratory (PHMRL) conducts all diagnostic testing for mumps virus in BC. A total of 122 specimens collected between 1 September 2014 and 17 February 2015 were submitted to the BC PHMRL with a request for mumps virus testing and were negative by real-time reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Although details on clinical presentation were not systematically collected, all cases presented with symptoms that prompted the clinician to request diagnostic testing for mumps. Further patient details, including immunisation status, were not obtained.
All of these specimens were re-tested for influenza A virus, influenza B virus and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) using an in-house RT-PCR multiplex assay [3]. Testing for other non-influenza or non-RSV respiratory viruses was not undertaken.
Of the 122 mumps virus RT-PCR-negative specimens, 16 (13%), comprising 15 buccal swabs and one throat swab, were positive for influenza A virus, comparable to the 15% positivity reported by Thompson et al. [1] but higher than the 7% reported by Shepherd et al. in their cohort of patients in Scotland [4]. The latter difference may reflect variation in the date of collection of mumps virus-negative specimens included in the analysis in relation to the timing, mix and intensity of influenza and other respiratory virus circulation regionally. One (1%) mumps virus-negative specimen in BC was positive for RSV.
...
http://www.eurosurveillance.org/ViewArticle.aspx?ArticleId=21239