TY - JOUR T1 - Molecular surveillance of pandemic influenza A(H1N1) viruses circulating in Italy from May 2009 to February 2010: association between haemagglutinin mutations and clinical outcome. JF - Euro Surveill Y1 - 2010 A1 - Puzelli, S A1 - Facchini, M A1 - De Marco, M A A1 - Palmieri, A A1 - Spagnolo, D A1 - Boros, S A1 - Corcioli, F A1 - Trotta, D A1 - Bagnarelli, P A1 - Azzi, A A1 - Cassone, A A1 - Rezza, G A1 - Pompa, M G A1 - Oleari, F A1 - Donatelli, I KW - Adolescent KW - Adult KW - Age Distribution KW - Aged KW - Amino Acid Substitution KW - Child KW - Child, Preschool KW - Female KW - Hemagglutinins KW - Humans KW - Infant KW - Influenza A Virus, H1N1 Subtype KW - Influenza, Human KW - Italy KW - Male KW - Middle Aged KW - Mutation KW - Pandemics KW - Population Surveillance KW - Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction KW - Severity of Illness Index KW - Sex Distribution KW - Young Adult AB -

Haemagglutinin sequences of pandemic influenza A(H1N1) viruses circulating in Italy were examined, focusing on amino acid changes at position 222 because of its suggested pathogenic relevance. Among 169 patients, the D222G substitution was detected in three of 52 (5.8%) severe cases and in one of 117 (0.9%) mild cases, whereas the D222E mutation was more frequent and evenly distributed in mild (31.6%) and severe cases (38.4%). A cluster of D222E viruses among school children confirms reported human-to-human transmission of viruses mutated at amino acid position 222.

VL - 15 IS - 43 U1 - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21087581?dopt=Abstract ER -