The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has detected the first confirmed human case of swine flu strain A(H1N2)v in the United Kingdom. Influenza A(H1N2)v is similar to flu viruses currently circulating in pigs in the UK.
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In a press release on Monday, UKHSA stated that “this is the first detection of this strain of flu in a human in the UK.” UKHSA stated that it is working closely with partners to determine the characteristics of the pathogen and assess the risk to human health.
The individual who was confirmed to carry the virus was tested by their GP in North Yorkshire after experiencing respiratory symptoms. Influenza A(H1N2)v virus was detected by UKHSA using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing and characterised using genome sequencing.
The individual concerned experienced a mild illness and has fully recovered. The source of their infection has not yet been ascertained and remains under investigation, as the person is not known to have worked with pigs.
UK Health Security Agency is trying to work out how someone in Yorkshire has been infected with a strain of flu so similar to a virus circulating in pigs in the UK.
Close contacts of the case are being followed up by UKHSA and partner organisations.
People with any respiratory symptoms are advised to continue following the existing guidance; avoid contact with other people while symptoms persist, particularly if the people they are coming into contact with are elderly or have existing medical conditions.
Background
Influenza A(H1) viruses are enzootic in swine populations in most regions of the world. When an influenza virus that normally circulates in swine is detected in a person, it is called a ‘variant influenza virus’.
H1N1, H1N2 and H3N2 are major subtypes of swine influenza A viruses in pigs and occasionally infect humans, usually after direct or indirect exposure to pigs or contaminated environments.
There have been a total of 50 human cases of influenza A(H1N2)v reported globally since 2005; none of them related genetically to this strain. Influenza A(H1N2)v has not previously been detected in humans in the UK. Human infections with swine influenza viruses occur sporadically.
Based on early information, the infection detected in the UK is a distinct clade (1b.1.1), which is different from recent human cases of influenza A(H1N2) elsewhere in the world but is similar to viruses in UK swine.
In 2009, there was a pandemic in humans caused by an influenza virus (influenza A H1N1(pdm09)) commonly referred to as ‘swine flu’. That virus contained genetic material from viruses that were circulating in pigs, birds and humans in the 1990s and 2000s.
Influenza A H1N1(pdm09) is now circulating in humans seasonally and is no longer referred to as swine flu. It is distinct from the viruses currently circulating in pigs.
Nnamdi Maduakor is a Writer, Investor and Entrepreneur
