2023-11-27 09:49:05 ET
The United Kingdom on Monday said that it had detected for the first time in a human a strain of flu virus commonly found in pigs.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has found a single confirmed human case of influenza A(H1N2)v, a strain that is similar to flu viruses currently circulating in pigs in the country.
"The case was detected as part of routine national flu surveillance undertaken by UKHSA and the Royal College of General Practitioners," the government agency said in a statement .
"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," the UKHSA added.
According to the UK agency, human infections with swine flu viruses do occur - a total of 50 such cases have been reported since 2005. The strain detected in the new case is unrelated genetically to the previous cases.
"It is thanks to routine flu surveillance and genome sequencing that we have been able to detect this virus. This is the first time we have detected this virus in humans in the UK, though it is very similar to viruses that have been detected in pigs," Meera Chand, incident director at UKHSA, said, adding that regulators were working "rapidly" to trace close contacts and reduce any potential spread.
Back in 2009, there was a swine flu pandemic in humans that was caused by a strain called influenza A H1N1(pdm09). That virus contained genetic material from viruses that were circulating in pigs, birds and humans in the 1990s and 2000s.
"We know that some diseases of animals can be transferred to humans," Christine Middlemiss, UK's chief veterinary officer, said.
"In this case we are providing specialist veterinary and scientific knowledge to support the UKHSA investigation. Pig keepers must also report any suspicion of swine flu in their herds to their local vet immediately," Middlemiss added.
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UK detects first human case of flu virus currently spreading in pigs