flu was jumping from pigs to people and back all along, no one was paying attention

indigo girl · Jul 8, 2009

New Flu Virus Found In Canadian Pig Farm Workers

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156692.php

Are they not giving us the subtype for this virus somewhere in this article? I am confused. I don't think that they have explained sufficiently why seasonal flu vax will be protective.

An investigation by scientists at the National Microbiology Laboratory of the PHAC in Winnipeg, found that the new strain contains genes from human seasonal flu and swine flu viruses. However, it is not a new strain of the pandemic A(H1N1) flu virus that has killed more than 400 people worldwide and contains human, swine and avian flu genes.
The workers were only mildy ill and have since made a full recovery, while a third case is still being investigated, said the PHAC.
According to a Reuters news report, Dr Greg Douglas, chief veterinary officer for Saskatchewan, said that the new virus contained genes from a seasonal H1N1 human flu strain and a flu virus commonly found in pig herds called triple reassortant H3N2.
"Preliminary results indicate the risk to public health is low and that Canadians who have been vaccinated against the regular, seasonal flu should have some immunity to this new flu strain," said the Health Minister.
Butler added that:
"The Government of Canada remains vigilant and we will continue to keep Canadians informed of any new developments."
Government investigators have also tested some of the pigs on the farm where the infected workers worked, and found that some were infected with swine influenza A, which is not uncommon among pig herds on farms. However, the PHAC said there was no evidence that the new strain found in the workers was present in the pigs.

indigo girl · Jul 8, 2009

tamiflu resistant novel h1n1 in saskatchewan raises concerns

http://www.recombinomics.com/news/07080902/h274y_sk.html

i see now. i did not understand that it is another h1n1, a novel h1n1. and, it is tamiflu resistant. the initial reports did not mention that fact. or that it could be quite transmissible.

this is going to be something to keep track of because it did not come from the pigs...

this new influenza is an animal strain that has been circulating in swine populations in north america since 1997.
it has been combined with two genes from the h1n1 seasonal flu, said dr. frank plummer, scientific director-general of the national microbiology laboratory in winnipeg.
"we think because of the genetic sequence of the virus, we think it would be resistant to tamiflu," he said.
the above comments on the novel h1n1 identified in farm workers in saskatchewan indicate the novel virus has a contemporary h1 and n1 from the brisbane/59 seasonal flu strain, which has h274y (tamiflu resistance) levels near 100%. although swine with human h1n1 has been described previously, this version has the oseltamivir resistance marker and is in a cluster of farm workers, two confirmed and one suspect case. since the surface genes are human, the novel virus should transmit human to human efficiently, and since the novel virus was not found in the swine associated with the workers, it is likely that the workers were infected by other humans and the two confirmed cases may have infected the suspect case.
since the serotype of the virus is human h1n1, detection would be limited to h1n1 isolates which were sequenced. although the number of h1n1 sequences deposited at genbank or gisaid were high in later 2008, there have been very few 2009 seasonal flu sequences deposited worldwide, and only a tiny fraction of deposits have come from canada, moreover, the vast majority of canadian isolates outside of bristish columbia are not even sero-typed. thus, the level of novel h1n1 with human surface genes is largely unknown. since the cases this far are limited to farm workers, spread may be limited.
however, the widespread presence of pandemic h1n1 may lead to better efficiencies in humans due to adaptations facilitated by seasonal flu or the novel flu. moreover, levels may increase in the fall, when influenza is more stable and more seasonal flu is in circulation.
although the above description provides more detail for the novel isolates, prompt release of sequences for all eight gene segments would be useful.

indigo girl · Jul 8, 2009

Source of Virus Unclear

http://ca.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idCATRE5667IC20090708?sp=true

They don't believe the virus came from other humans, and, there is no evidence that it came from the pigs. Lord knows, they do not want to believe that it came from other humans.

Maybe they will find it in other pigs. Meanwhile, there is no quarantine at this farm.

Canadian officials don't know how two Canadian hog farm workers contracted a new flu virus, as the pigs tested so far on the farm where they work have demonstrated a common flu strain, not the new virus.
The new virus, which Canadian officials announced on Tuesday and have reported to the World Health Organization, contains genes from a seasonal human H1N1 flu strain and a flu virus common in the swine population called triple reassortant H3N2.
The virus is not connected to the new H1N1 strain that has killed 429 people worldwide.
"(The new virus) causes some concern because if it came from pigs, which we don't know, it fuels the fire for people who view the pig as a mixing vessel (for flu viruses)," said Dr. Keith Campbell, national manager of animal biosecurity for the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.
He was speaking at a conference in the western province of Saskatchewan hosted by the newly formed Canadian Swine Health Board.
Campbell declined to speculate on other potential sources of the new flu virus.
"For my purposes, (the source) is not that important, but if I'm a pig producer, I don't want people to think it came from pigs."
Saskatchewan animal health officials have tested only a fraction of the 15,000 to 20,000 pigs on a corporate farm in Saskatchewan where the workers are employed.
The farm's veterinarian tested pigs showing mild cough and respiratory symptoms, some of which tested positive for flu virus H3N2, not the new flu virus, said Dr. Greg Douglas, Saskatchewan's chief veterinary officer, in an interview with Reuters.
He said he won't know if that H3N2 strain is the same as the H3N2 strain in new virus until further lab tests are complete.
Douglas said that despite the test results, he assumes pigs transmitted the new virus as officials don't believe it was transferred among humans.
"But I would be very careful in deducing that this virus in these humans came from somewhere specific," Douglas said.
More pigs will now be tested on the farm. Farm owner Big Sky Farms, one of Canada's biggest pig producers, has voluntarily agreed not to move the pigs, but the farm is not under quarantine.
Saskatchewan health officials have tested about 500 samples submitted from people with flu-like symptoms in the past few weeks and found only the two hog workers and a third possible case showing the new virus, said Dr. Saqib Shahab, the province's deputy medical health officer.
When Saskatchewan's lab analyzed the workers' samples, it found signs of both the seasonal human H1N1 flu and the swine H3N2 flu. Through genetic sequencing, Canada's national lab determined the sample was a new virus, not a sample with two separate viruses present, Shahab said.
Health officials are now asking all hog farm workers in south-central and southeast Saskatchewan with flu-like symptoms to be tested, he said. The hog farm is in eastern Saskatchewan.
Canada does not require regular mandatory on-farm testing of swine, leaving it up to farmers.
"We have no intention to change that," the CFIA's Campbell said.
Flu symptoms in livestock are unique enough that farmers often diagnose them themselves, said Dr. George Charbonneau, president of the Canadian Association of Swine Veterinarians.
"As far as we're concerned, (it's) situation normal," he said of the new flu virus. "To have these new strains evolving and showing up in the human population or the pig population -- it's just always been happening."

oramar · Jul 9, 2009

That is tooo big of a co-incidence that the people work on a pig farm, just tooo big.

indigo girl · Jul 9, 2009

yes, it is a strange coincidence.

http://www.flutrackers.com/forum/showpost.php?p=262278&postcount=46

quote:
originally posted by denisemc
if the workers got the flu from the swine, then how did the swine not have the same flu? makes no sense. what are they not telling us. and are they testing the workers' families, contacts?
i think the assumption is that reassortment or recombination occurred in the workers, who were already infected with one strain, and then contracted a different strain from the pigs. as dr. niman has pointed out, that's a major concern. i would be astonished if the workers' families and contacts were not being tested.