US health officials on Friday warned the public to be careful around
pigs after an outbreak of flu among visitors to county fairs.
The virus does not appear to have evolved to the point where it
spreads easily among humans, but it does contain a gene from the pandemic H1N1
flu that sickened millions worldwide in 2009 and 2010.
“We are
concerned that… may confer the potential for the virus to
infect or spread among humans to a greater extent”, said Joseph Bresee, an influenza
epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The virus was first detected in July 2011 and there have since been a
total of 29 known cases - 16 of them in the past three weeks - in the United
States.
It is a relatively mild flu - everyone recovered and only three
people were hospitalized. As a result, many more cases have likely occurred
without being reported to health officials.
The bulk of the reported cases were among children, who are more
susceptible to swine flu.
With county fair season in full swing, health officials expect more
people will get sick.
Bresee urged people to go to the doctor if they feel flu symptoms after coming into contact with pigs so that public health officials can better track the outbreak. rawstory.com
AN/DB
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