BACKGROUND: In March 2009, global surveillance started detecting cases of influenza-like illness in Mexico. By mid-April 2009, two pediatric patients were identified in the United States who were confirmed to be infected by a novel influenza A (H1N1) strain. The present article describes the first identified severe respiratory infection and the first death associated with pandemic H1N1 (pH1N1) in Canada.METHODS: Enhanced public health and laboratory surveillance for pH1N1 was implemented throughout Alberta on April 24, 2009. Respiratory specimens from all patients with a respiratory illness and travel history or those presenting with a severe respiratory infection requiring hospitalization underwent screening for respiratory viruses using molecular methods. For the first severe case identified and the first death due to pH1N1, histocompatibility leukocyte antigens were compared by molecular methods.RESULTS: The first death (a 39-year-old woman) occurred on April 28, 2009, and on May 1, 2009, a 10-year-old child presented with severe respiratory distress due to pH1N1. Both patients had no travel or contact with anyone who had travelled to Mexico; the cases were not linked. Histocompatibility antigen comparison of both patients did not identify any notable similarity. pH1N1 strains identified in Alberta did not differ from the Mexican strain.CONCLUSION: Rapid transmission of pH1N1 continued to occur in Alberta following the first death and the first severe respiratory infection in Canada, which were identified without any apparent connection to Mexico or the United States. Contact tracing follow-up suggested that oseltamivir may have prevented ongoing transmission of pH1N1.

中文翻译：

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艾伯塔省新型猪源甲型流感 (H1N1) 病毒感染引起的严重呼吸道疾病的鉴定和流行病学。


背景：2009 年 3 月，全球监测开始在墨西哥发现流感样疾病病例。到2009年4月中旬，美国发现两名儿童患者被证实感染新型甲型H1N1流感病毒株。本文介绍了加拿大首次发现的严重呼吸道感染和首例与大流行 H1N1 (pH1N1) 相关的死亡。方法：2009 年 4 月 24 日，在艾伯塔省全境加强了对 pH1N1 的公共卫生和实验室监测。有呼吸道疾病和旅行史或患有严重呼吸道感染需要住院治疗的人使用分子方法进行呼吸道病毒筛查。对于发现的首例重症病例和首例因pH1N1导致的死亡，通过分子方法比较了组织相容性白细胞抗原。结果：首例死亡（一名39岁女性）发生于2009年4月28日和2009年5月1日，一名 10 岁儿童因 pH1N1 出现严重呼吸窘迫。两名患者都没有旅行过，也没有与任何去过墨西哥的人接触过；这些案件没有关联。两名患者的组织相容性抗原比较没有发现任何显着的相似性。在阿尔伯塔省发现的 pH1N1 菌株与墨西哥菌株没有区别。 结论：继加拿大出现首例死亡和首例严重呼吸道感染后，阿尔伯塔省继续发生 pH1N1 的快速传播，这些感染与墨西哥或美国没有任何明显的联系。接触者追踪随访表明奥司他韦可能阻止了 pH1N1 的持续传播。