Tracking the 2009 H1N1 Influenza Virus in Campania, Italy

Newswise — (September 28, 2011) – PHILADELPHIA -- An analysis of the high incidence of the H1N1 swine-origin influenza virus (S-OIV) in 2009 in the Campania region of Southern Italy presents important findings that provide a “significant pattern for emerging viral agents at risk in global health approaches to early diagnosis and prompt therapy,” according to an article in the Journal of Cellular Physiology.

Work on the paper was performed at the virology laboratory of Contugno Hospital, coordinated at CROM (Oncologic Research Center of Mercogliano) and presented by the Sbarro Institute for Cancer Research Molecular Medicine, located at the College of Science and Technology in Temple University, Philadelphia, PA and the University of Siena, Siena, Italy, and the Human Health Foundation, in Spoleto-Terni, Italy.

“Analysis of the factors that contributed to higher H1N1 flu incidence is important not only to address the panic issues among the population but has implications on future prevention campaigns,” says Dr. Giulio Tarro, the lead author of the study. “Being able to identify sources of contamination quickly and accurately has important implications for protecting the environment and monitoring potential pathogens.”

Of the ten regions in Italy, the most impacted by the H1N1 virus was the Campania region, which also had the highest reported number of fatalities – 27 in the high population density city of Naples and 13 in Lazio. While the number of patients who died was less than past pandemics, the report noted an “obviously” panicked population, “due in part to scarce knowledge of the virus and a poor information campaign.”

Other findings in the study include:

. Campania led Italy in the incidence of infection and flu-related fatalities, in part due to its dense population, which favored the spread of infection. At the regional level, Naples, the most densely populated Campania province, had the highest percentage of flu incidence when compared with other provinces.

. Consistent with the other areas of Italy, younger populations – between 7 months and 17 years -- were the most affected groups in the Campania region. The paper attributes this to “more promiscuous behaviors” and “higher population density owing to school gathering.”

. Mortality in Campania may have been higher because the Contugno hospital had medical specialists qualified to make detailed determinations if H1N1 was a factor or co-factor in death. Similar centers are not so readily available throughout other Italian regions, especially in the South of Italy, suggesting that some data might not be as accurate as Campania’s data.

With this lack of capability to determine a precise diagnosis for the H1N1 virus in many cases, the researchers note that it may not always be possible to know when the virus was crucial to the mortality of a patient.

The Sbarro Health Research Organization Center for Biotechnology Research funds the Sbarro Institute for Cancer Research and Molecular Medicine, a leading nonprofit research center for cancer, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. The Director of the Center is Antonio Giordano, M.D., Ph.D., an internationally known pathologist and geneticist.

The Human Health Foundation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to biomedical research and health education based in Spoleto-Terni, Italy.