• Karen K Wong, Adena Greenbaum, Maria E Moll, James Lando, Erin L Moore, Rahul Ganatra, Matthew Biggerstaff, Eugene Lam, Erica E Smith, Aaron D Storms, Jeffrey R Miller, Virginia Dato, Kumar Nalluswami, Atmaram Nambiar, Sharon A Silvestri, James R Lute, Stephen Ostroff, Kathy Hancock, Alicia Branch, Susan C Trock, Alexander Klimov, Bo Shu, Lynnette Brammer, Scott Epperson, Lyn Finelli, and Michael A Jhung.
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia 30329, USA. kwong@cdc.gov
• Emerging Infect. Dis. 2012 Dec 1;18(12):1937-44.

AbstractDuring August 2011, influenza A (H3N2) variant [A(H3N2)v] virus infection developed in a child who attended an agricultural fair in Pennsylvania, USA; the virus resulted from reassortment of a swine influenza virus with influenza A(H1N1)pdm09. We interviewed fair attendees and conducted a retrospective cohort study among members of an agricultural club who attended the fair. Probable and confirmed cases of A(H3N2)v virus infection were defined by serology and genomic sequencing results, respectively. We identified 82 suspected, 4 probable, and 3 confirmed case-patients who attended the fair. Among 127 cohort study members, the risk for suspected case status increased as swine exposure increased from none (4%; referent) to visiting swine exhibits (8%; relative risk 2.1; 95% CI 0.2-53.4) to touching swine (16%; relative risk 4.4; 95% CI 0.8-116.3). Fairs may be venues for zoonotic transmission of viruses with epidemic potential; thus, health officials should investigate respiratory illness outbreaks associated with agricultural events.

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