Clinical Infectious Diseases (CID)
Volume 59 Issue 11 December 1, 2014
http://cid.oxfordjournals.org/content/current

Editor’s choice: Clinical and Laboratory Findings of the First Imported Case of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus to the United States
Minal Kapoor, Kimberly Pringle, Alan Kumar, Stephanie Dearth, Lixia Liu, Judith Lovchik, Omar Perez, Pam Pontones, Shawn Richards, Jaime Yeadon-Fagbohun, Lucy Breakwell, Nora Chea,
Nicole J. Cohen, Eileen Schneider, Dean Erdman, Lia Haynes, Mark Pallansch, Ying Tao, Suxiang Tong, Susan Gerber, David Swerdlow, and Daniel R. Feikin
Clin Infect Dis. (2014) 59 (11): 1511-1518 doi:10.1093/cid/ciu635
Abstract
The first US case of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus was confirmed in May 2014 in a 65-year-old physician who worked in Saudi Arabia and presented to an Indiana hospital on illness day 11. He had bilateral pneumonia and recovered fully.

Editorial Commentary: Changing Epidemiology of Influenza B Virus
W. Paul Glezen
Author Affiliations
Department of Molecular Virology and Microbiology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas
Extract
Influenza B virus is an important cause of acute respiratory illness that tends to be overlooked because of the prominence of influenza A. On average, influenza B is responsible for about 25% of laboratory-documented influenza. Morbidity is highest in schoolchildren, but all age groups are at risk [1]. Comparisons of the clinical presentation and complications for influenza A and B infections have shown little difference; infected children tend to be slightly older during influenza B epidemics and may be more likely to have myalgia or myositis [2]. The epidemiology of influenza B has changed over the past 30 years. From 1974 to 1985, 4 epidemics caused by influenza B viruses were observed in Houston, Texas [3]. These epidemics were relatively discreet and varied considerably in intensity. Younger schoolchildren aged 5–14 years had the highest attack rates, resulting in high rates of school absenteeism [4]. Observations through the influenza B/Hong Kong epidemic of 1976–1977 showed that 73% of the infections detected during the first one-third of the epidemic occurred in students 5–19 years of age. As the epidemic proceeded, the proportion of infections in schoolchildren dropped and proportions for preschool children and adults increased; this observation along with others supported the hypothesis that schoolchildren are the main spreaders of influenza in the community…