2023-12-03 20:05:01
Title: Swine flu alert in humans: Influenza A(H1N2)v circulating in the United Kingdom
By: Moritz Bletzinger
Date: December 3rd, 2023, 7:05 p.m
A person in Great Britain has been infected with H1N2. A rare variant of the swine flu virus can infect people – and continue to mutate quickly.
London – This has never happened before in England: a person was infected with swine flu. The variant of the H1N1 pathogen is also completely new. It was found during a routine flu test in the county of North Yorkshire in the UK. The British health authority UKHSA reports in detail about the case.
How the man became infected is still unknown. Did he get infected from an animal? “We know that some animal diseases can be transmitted to humans,” explains senior veterinarian Christine Middlemiss.
Of course, the health authorities now want to prevent an epidemic. “We are working quickly to trace close contacts and contain any possible spread,” says UKHSA director Meera Chand. Pig farmers must report any suspected swine flu in their herds to the veterinarian. Influenza A(H1N2)v is circulating among animals on the island.
Swine flu is widespread worldwide; the most important subtypes include H1N1, H1N2, and H3N2. Occasionally, they jump to people, usually when they come into direct contact with pigs or in a contaminated environment. According to the UKHSA, there have been 50 recorded cases worldwide since 2005.
Infection is usually harmless in humans. The symptoms are difficult to distinguish from the usual flu, explains the lung information service. After one to four days, a sudden high fever, loss of appetite, runny nose, cough, muscle and body aches, and possibly a sore throat occur.
However, human infections carry a high risk of mutations. The danger is that a pathogen arises that can be transmitted from person to person. This happened in Mexico around 2009 when a variant of H1N1 caused a pandemic. It is usually mutated variants that stimulate infection. Such as the Corona variant Pirola, which causes new symptoms. (moe)]
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