"Emergence of a novel swine-origin influenza A (H1N1) virus in
humans," by the Novel Swine-Origin Influenza A (H1N1) Virus
Investigation Team (F.S. Dawood, et al.), New England Journal
of Medicine, 360(25): 2605-15, 18 June 2009.
[Authors affiliation (writing group): Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, Atlanta, GA]
Abstract: "BACKGROUND On April 15 and
April 17, 2009, novel swine-origin influenza A
(H1N1) virus (S-OIV) was identified
in specimens obtained from two epidemiologically unlinked patients in the
United States. The same strain of the virus was identified in Mexico,
Canada, and elsewhere. We describe 642 confirmed cases of human S-OIV
infection identified from the rapidly evolving U. S. outbreak.
METHODS Enhanced surveillance was implemented in the
United States for human infection with influenza A viruses that could not
be subtyped. Specimens were sent to the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention for real-time reverse-transcriptase-polymerase chain-reaction
confirmatory testing for S-OIV.
RESULTS From April 15 through May 5, a total of 642
confirmed cases of S-OIV infection were identified in 41 states. The ages
of patients ranged from 3 months to 81 years; 60% of patients were 18 years
of age or younger. Of patients with available data, 18% had recently
traveled to Mexico, and 16% were identified from school outbreaks of S-OIV
infection. The most common presenting symptoms were fever (94% of
patients), cough (92%), and sore throat (66%); 25% of patients had
diarrhea, and 25% had vomiting. Of the 399 patients for whom
hospitalization status was known, 36 (9%) required hospitalization. Of 22
hospitalized patients with available data, 12 had characteristics that
conferred an increased risk of severe seasonal influenza, 11 had pneumonia,
8 required admission to an intensive care unit, 4 had respiratory failure,
and 2 died. The S-OIV was determined to have a unique genome composition
that had not been identified previously.
CONCLUSIONS A novel swine-origin influenza A virus was
identified as the cause of outbreaks of febrile respiratory infection
ranging from self-limited to severe illness. It is likely that the number
of confirmed cases underestimates the number of cases that have occurred."
This 2009 report from the New England Journal of Medicine was
cited 81 times in current journal articles
indexed by Clarivate during November-December 2009. Only one other
medicine paper published in the last two years, aside from reviews,
collected a greater number of citations during that two-month period. In
fact, this report ranked in the top ten of papers published in 2009 that
were most cited by year's end--an impressive feat, given that it did not
appear until June. Prior to the most recent bimonthly count, citations to
the paper have accrued as follows:
SOURCE:
Hot Papers Database (Included with a subscription to the print
newsletter
Science Watch®, available from the
Research Services
Group of Thomson
Reuters. Packaged on a CD that is mailed with each Science
Watch issue, the Hot Papers Database contains data on hundreds of
highly cited papers published during the last two years. User interface
permits searching by author, organization, journal, field, and more. Total
citations, as well as citations accrued during successive bimonthly
periods, can be assessed and graphed. An updated CD containing the most
recent bimonthly data is mailed with every new issue of Science
Watch, six times a year. The CD also includes an electronic version of
the Science Watch issue in HTML format, for personal desktop
access.