Swine influenza differential diagnosis
For more information about seasonal human influenza virus that is not associated with animal exposure, see Influenza
Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]; Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Yazan Daaboul, M.D.
Overview
Swine influenza should be differentiated from the following diseases or pathogens that cause upper or lower respiratory tract infection or flu-like illness, such as other influenza viruses, such as human or swine influenza, other viral, bacterial, fungal, and parasitic agents that are typically associated with nasopharyngeal and respiratory tract infections, and non-infectious causes, such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), drug adverse effects, and cardiac causes.
Differential Diagnosis
Influenza should be differentiated from the following diseases or pathogens that cause upper or lower respiratory disease or flu-like symptoms:[1][2]
Infectious Diseases
- Other influenza viruses, such as human influenza or avian influenza
- Other infectious agents, including viruses, bacteria, fungi, and parasites, that are typically responsible for respiratory illness
- Anthrax (caused by B. anthracis)
- Arenaviruses
- Cytomegalovirus (CMV)
- Chlamydia pneumoniae
- Coronaviruses (responsible for SARS and MERS)
- Dengue fever
- Echoviruses
- Ebola virus infection
- Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome
- Herpes viruses
- HIV disease
- Histoplasmosis and other fungal causes of respiratory disease
- Human metapneumovirus
- Malaria
- Measles
- Parainfluenza virus
- Poliovirus infection
- Q fever
- Rhinovirus
- Respiratory syncytial virus
- Other bacterial causes of nasopharyngeal and respiratory infection, such as S. pneumoniae, S. aureus, H. influenzae, M. pneumoniae, M. tuberculosis, L. pneumophila.
Non-infectious Diseases
- Asthma
- Bronchiectasis
- Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and emphysema
- Drugs, such as interferons, monoclonal antibodies, bisphosphonates, and chemotherapeutic agents
- Hematologic malignancies (leukemias and lymphomas)
- Myocarditis
- Metal fume fever
- Pericarditis
- Pulmonary embolism
- Vaccinations (typically transient and mild flu-like illness)
Differentiating Influenza and Common Cold
| Symptoms | Influenza | Common Cold |
|---|---|---|
| Fever | High fever (100-102° F) | Uncommon |
| Headache | Common | Uncommon |
| Cough | Common, moderate to severe | Mild to moderate |
| Body aches | Common, may be severe | Slight |
| Fatigue | Common, can last up to 2-3 weeks | Sometimes |
| Nasal congestion | Sometimes | Common |
| Sneezing | Sometimes | Common |
| Sore throat | Sometimes | Common |
| Adapted from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) [3] | ||
References
- ↑ Szewczuk, Elektra; Thapa, Kiran; Anninos, Terry; McPhie, Kenneth; Higgins, Geoff; Dwyer, Dominic E; Stanley, Keith K; Iredell, Jonathan R (2010). “Rapid semi-automated quantitative multiplex tandem PCR (MT-PCR) assays for the differential diagnosis of influenza-like illness”. BMC Infectious Diseases. 10 (1): 113. doi:10.1186/1471-2334-10-113. ISSN 1471-2334.
- ↑ Liu, Ding Xiang; Schulze, Martin; Nitsche, Andreas; Schweiger, Brunhilde; Biere, Barbara (2010). “Diagnostic Approach for the Differentiation of the Pandemic Influenza A(H1N1)v Virus from Recent Human Influenza Viruses by Real-Time PCR”. PLoS ONE. 5 (4): e9966. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0009966. ISSN 1932-6203.
- ↑ “National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)- Flu (Influenza)”.
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