Zoonotic infections…What are those you say?!?!? A zoonotic disease is an infection that is naturally transmitted from vertebrate animals to human beings. Pigs have been the source of significant zoonotic infections of humans, including like this one, a fatal case of “swine influenza” attributed to the swine influenza virus. State health officials in Ohio reported the first human death from this new variant strain of swine flu on August 31. Federal health officials confirmed the [...]
Swine Flu Continues to Be An Issue, Especially with Children – C.D.C. Reports Sudden Rise in Mild Cases This Week
The number of swine flu cases is continuing to expand in the United States and in the past week has jumped up by another 16. From July 12 through August 9, 2012, a total of 153 infections with influenza A (H3N2) variant (H3N2v) viruses have been reported in four states (Hawaii [1], Illinois [1], Indiana [120], and Ohio [31]). One piece of good news…there is no evidence of transmission between humans. So far, all the [...]
Going to A State Fair? Careful…Today CDC Recommends Precautions When Interacting with Pigs, 18-29 New Cases of H3N2v Virus Infection
Today CDC issued a “CDC ADVISORY”…CDC reports 12 additional human infections with influenza A (H3N2) variant* virus in 3 states: Hawaii (1 case), Ohio (10 cases) and Indiana (1 case). The H3N2v virus contains the M gene from the human influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 (2009 H1N1) virus, as have the previous 17 cases detected since July 2011. All of this week’s reported cases occurred in people who had direct or indirect contact with swine prior to their [...]
H1N1 (Swine Flu): Two human infections with swine origin influenza A (H3N2) in the United States (Wisconsin and Pennsylvania)
Last week CDC reported 2 human infections with a novel swine origin influenza A (H3N2) virus in the United States (Wisconsin and Pennsylvania). The viruses are swine origin triple-reassortant H3N2 influenza viruses – these are viruses that normally infect pigs. Both of the patients were in the vicinity of live pigs. Dates of illness onset in the 2 patients are more than 6 weeks apart and the viruses from the 2 patients have some genetic [...]
