Transmission of novel influenza A(H1N1) in households with post-exposure antiviral prophylaxis

• Published in: PloS one Vol. 5; no. 7; p. e11442
• Main Authors: van Boven, Michiel, Donker, Tjibbe, van der Lubben, Mariken, van Gageldonk-Lafeber, Rianne B, te Beest, Dennis E, Koopmans, Marion, Meijer, Adam, Timen, Aura, Swaan, Corien, Dalhuijsen, Anton, Hahné, Susan, van den Hoek, Anneke, Teunis, Peter, van der Sande, Marianne A B, Wallinga, Jacco
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Public Library of Science 07-07-2010; Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Age; Age Factors; Aged; Analysis; Antiviral agents; Antiviral Agents - therapeutic use; Child; Child, Preschool; Classification; Clinical trials; Disease control; Disease susceptibility; Disease transmission; Drugs; Elderly; Epidemics; Epidemiology; Female; Health aspects; Health care; Health services; Households; Humans; Humidity; Infections; Infectious diseases; Infectious Diseases/Epidemiology and Control of Infectious Diseases; Infectious Diseases/Viral Infections; Influenza; Influenza A; Influenza A Virus, H1N1 Subtype - pathogenicity; Influenza, Human - drug therapy; Influenza, Human - transmission; Influenza, Human - virology; Laboratories; Male; Medical research; Middle Aged; Older people; Oseltamivir; Oseltamivir - therapeutic use; Pandemics; Primary care; Prophylaxis; Public health; Public Health and Epidemiology/Infectious Diseases; Public Health and Epidemiology/Preventive Medicine; Respiratory diseases; Schools; Social research; Stochasticity; Studies; Transmission efficiency; Viruses; Workplaces; Young Adult; Netherlands
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0011442

Despite impressive advances in our understanding of the biology of novel influenza A(H1N1) virus, little is as yet known about its transmission efficiency in close contact places such as households, schools, and workplaces. These are widely believed to be key in supporting propagating spread, and it is therefore of importance to assess the transmission levels of the virus in such settings.
We estimate the transmissibility of novel influenza A(H1N1) in 47 households in the Netherlands using stochastic epidemic models. All households contained a laboratory confirmed index case, and antiviral drugs (oseltamivir) were given to both the index case and other households members within 24 hours after detection of the index case. Among the 109 household contacts there were 9 secondary infections in 7 households. The overall estimated secondary attack rate is low (0.075, 95%CI: 0.037-0.13). There is statistical evidence indicating that older persons are less susceptible to infection than younger persons (relative susceptibility of older persons: 0.11, 95%CI: 0.024-0.43. Notably, the secondary attack rate from an older to a younger person is 0.35 (95%CI: 0.14-0.61) when using an age classification of <or=12 versus >12 years, and 0.28 (95%CI: 0.12-0.50) when using an age classification of <or=18 versus >18 years.
Our results indicate that the overall household transmission levels of novel influenza A(H1N1) in antiviral-treated households were low in the early stage of the epidemic. The relatively high rate of adult-to-child transmission indicates that control measures focused on this transmission route will be most effective in minimizing the total number of infections.