INFLUENZA A (H3N2), SWINE, HUMAN - UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: (KANSAS)

Date: Thu 6 Aug 2009
Source: KAKE10, ABC news [edited]
<http://www.kake.com/news/headlines/52609862.html>


Uncommon Swine Flu Detected In Kansas
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A Riley County child has been infected with a strain of swine
influenza [virus] not commonly seen in humans, but has fully
recovered following a mild illness. No other cases have been
identified, but an investigation is underway. The influenza strain
that infected the child was identified as an H3N2 virus that commonly
circulates in pigs in North America. It is different from the
pandemic H1N1 virus, also of swine origin, that was first detected in
the United States in mid-April [2009]. [It presumably differs also
from the current human seasonal H3N2 virus. - Mod.CP]

"It is critical for people to understand that this H3N2 virus is not
related to the pandemic H1N1 virus," said Jason Eberhart-Phillips,
Kansas State Health Officer and Director of Health at the Kansas
Department of Health and Environment (KDHE). "This is not a mutation
or a recombination of the pandemic strain, and it does not appear at
this time to be a threat to human health." The child was likely
exposed to the virus during the Riley County Fair in late July
[2009], where the child had direct contact with pigs. The child later
developed influenza-like symptoms and sought medical care. The child
has fully recovered and no other family members have reported illness.

The KDHE is working closely with the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC), the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the
Riley County Health Department and the Kansas Animal Health
Department to investigate this case. The KDHE and the local health
department are working to determine if the Riley County Fair swine
exhibitors, or their pigs, have been ill. Swine flu viruses do not
normally infect humans, but human infections occur from time to time.
Typically the CDC has received reports of approximately one human
infection with a swine influenza virus each year. That number has
risen slightly in the past few years. The increased number of
reported cases this year is likely the result of increased influenza
testing related to the H1N1 pandemic. So far this year, 14 cases of
human infections with swine influenza viruses have been reported in
the United States. That number does not include the number of H1N1
cases, as the H1N1 virus has not been detected in swine in the USA.

"Most instances of human infection with animal influenza viruses,
like the swine H3N2 virus, do not result in human-to-human
transmission," Dr. Eberhart-Phillips said. "However, each case needs
to be fully investigated to be sure that the viruses are not
spreading among humans." Most commonly, cases of human infection with
swine influenza occur in people with direct exposure to pigs, he added.