Serologic survey of pandemic (H1N1) 2009 virus, Guangxi Province, China

DOI: 10.3201/eid1511.090868
Suggested citation for this article: Chen H, Wang Y, Liu W, Zhang J, Dong B, Fan X, et al. Serologic survey of pandemic (H1N1) 2009 virus, Guangxi Province, China [letter]. Emerg Infect Dis. 2009 Nov; [Epub ahead of print]
Serologic Survey of Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 Virus, Guangxi Province, China
To the Editor: Since mid-April 2009, a new influenza A virus (H1N1), now called pandemic (H1N1) 2009 virus, has caused influenza outbreaks in humans in North America (1) and a worldwide pandemic (2–4). Human pandemics occur when a new virus subtype emerges that is capable of human-to-human transmission in a population with little or no neutralizing antibodies to the new virus (4).
The current outbreak presents the first opportunity to directly observe this process. We used hemagglutination inhibition (HI) and virus neutralization (VN) assays to detect antibodies in 4,043 serum samples from residents (7–84 years of age) of 2 counties in Guangxi Province, People’s Republic of China, collected during July–August 2008. These persons were mostly farmers who lived in rural areas. Serum samples were obtained, transported, and frozen at −80°C as described (5). No participants had a history of vaccination against seasonal influenza. Antibodies were also detected in another 22 persons (<40 years of age) in Shantou, Guangdong Province, who had received 3 vaccinations for seasonal influenza since 2006.

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