Attn: All Hospitals
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issues CDCHAN-00520: Accelerated Subtyping of Influenza A in Hospitalized Patients
Summary:
As part of the Division’s commitment to Teach, Learn and Collaborate, the Division of Quality Assurance (DQA) would like to inform you that the CDC is issuing CDCHAN-00520.
The CDC is issuing this Health Alert Network (HAN) Health Advisory to clinicians and laboratories due to sporadic human infections with avian influenza A(H5N1) viruses amid high levels of seasonal influenza activity. CDC is recommending a shortened timeline for subtyping all influenza A specimens among hospitalized patients and increasing efforts at clinical laboratories to identify non-seasonal influenza. Clinicians and laboratorians are reminded to test for influenza in patients with suspected influenza and, going forward, to now expedite the subtyping of influenza A-positive specimens from hospitalized patients, particularly those in an intensive care unit (ICU). This approach can help prevent delays in identifying human infections with avian influenza A(H5N1) viruses, supporting optimal patient care and timely infection control and case investigation.
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