Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America
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Patients infected with influenza A(H7N9) virus present with acute lung injury (ALI) that is due to severe pneumonia and systemic inflammation. It is often fatal because there are few effective treatment options. Complement activation has been implicated in the pathogenesis of virus-induced lung injury; therefore, we investigated the effect of targeted complement inhibition on ALI induced by H7N9 virus infection. ⋯ Antihuman C5a antibody treatment remarkably reduced the ALI and systemic inflammation induced by H7N9 virus infection. Complement inhibition may be a promising adjunctive therapy for severe viral pneumonia.