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Prevalence of antibodies to European porcine influenza viruses in humans living in high pig density areas of Germany

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Abstract

The risk of zoonotic human infection caused by European porcine influenza virus strains was estimated in German regions with a high pig density. Sera from 622 healthy volunteers were collected between April 2009 and November 2011, mainly in Westphalia and western Lower Saxony. These included 362 subjects with occupational contact to pigs and 260 blood donors without any direct exposition to pigs. Samples were analysed by the haemagglutination inhibition (HI) assay against a panel of six swine viruses of subtypes avian-like H1N1 and human-like H3N2 as well as against human H1N1 and H3N2 viruses including the pandemic H1N1 strain of 2009. Reciprocal HI titres ≥20 were quoted as seroreactive. Compared to the control group, a significantly higher proportion of subjects with direct contact to pigs exhibited seroreactivity against porcine antigens of the avian-like H1N1 (37.0 %/7.7 %), the human-like H3N2 (59.7 %/43.1 %), the pandemic H1N1 strain of 2009 (51.7 %/26.5 %) and against a historic seasonal H3N2 strain that is closely related antigenetically to currently circulating human-like H3N2 viruses of European pigs (57.5 %/36.5 %). This trend was also observed when a reciprocal HI titre ≥40 was chosen as cut-off. Particularly, in younger subjects, the differences in seroreactivity against porcine strains between the exposed and non-exposed group were significant. The data indicate a higher risk of infection in the exposed individuals.

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Acknowledgments

The outstanding collaboration with all members of the German Red Cross Blood Donation Servicecentres in Münster and Springe is cordially acknowledged. The authors are indebted to Martina Müller for excellent technical assistance. The authors thank Professor Klaus Stark (Robert Koch Institute, Berlin) for helpful discussions and advice. This study was supported by a Grant of the Robert Koch Institute (FKZ 1362/1-981).

Conflict of interests

Some results of this study were presented at the 4th Influenza meeting of the Deutsche Vereinigung zur Bekämpfung der Viruskrankheiten e. V., 2012, on the National Symposium of Zoonoses Research, 2012 and on the 23rd meeting of the German Society for Virology, 2013. The authors declare no conflict of interests.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Infection Medicine, Christian Albrecht University of Kiel and University Medical Center Schleswig–Holstein, Campus Kiel, Brunswiker Strasse 4, 24105, Kiel, Germany

    Andi Krumbholz

  2. Department of Virology and Antiviral Therapy, Jena University Hospital, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Jena, Germany

    Andi Krumbholz, Jeannette Lange, Peter Wutzler, Andreas Sauerbrei & Roland Zell

  3. IDT Biologika GmbH, Dessau-Rosslau, Germany

    Ralf Dürrwald

  4. Institute of Medical Statistics, Computer Sciences and Documentation, Jena University Hospital, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Jena, Germany

    Mario Walther

  5. German Red Cross Blood Donation Service NSTOB, Springe, Germany

    Thomas H. Müller

  6. German Red Cross Blood Donation Center West, Münster, Germany

    Detlef Kühnel

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Krumbholz, A., Lange, J., Dürrwald, R. et al. Prevalence of antibodies to European porcine influenza viruses in humans living in high pig density areas of Germany. Med Microbiol Immunol 203, 13–24 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00430-013-0309-y

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