Analysis of diagnostic and handling procedures of the first imported case of A/H1N1 influenza in mainland China / 中华急诊医学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective The patient started from St. Louis (U. S.), and reached Chengdu (China) after 3 days of flight(St. Louis- Tokyo- Beijing - Chengdu). The patient felt unwell, so he and the two relatives took a taxi to the Emergency Center of Sichuan Provincial People' s Hospital for treatment. The epidemiological survey showed that, the patient had been living in the University of Missouri in the United States, no pigs died locally, there were no markets for the living pigs, farmers markets, farms, and slaughterhouses, and he hadn't contact with pigs. But 4 days before the onset, he closely contacted with a schoolmate, who had cold symptoms. The pa-tient had never been to virus laboratory 7 days before the onset. Clinical examinations showed that, the patient had a fever (37.8 ～ 38.8℃), WBC 7.9×10-9 L-1, N 5.475 × 10-9 L-1, L 19.5% ;the chest X-ray shewed that texture increased and the heart shadow augmented on both lungs; the result of throat swab culture was negative. The result of virus nucleic aeid detected by Sichnan Provincial Center for Disease Control showed H1N1 influenza virus, suspected. Sichuan Province Health organization organized experts on the prevention and control of H1N1 influenza for consultation, and the patient was diagnosed as the first suspected H1N1 influenza case in mainland China based on the epidemiological investigation, symptoms and signs of the patient, the results of laboratory ex-amination, and the result of virus test. Confirmed by the experts from Chinese center for disease control and pre-vention and The Ministry of Health of the People's Republic of China, the patient was diagnosed as the first H1N1 influenza case in mainland China.