By NewsDesk  @bactiman63

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported a case of human infection with a novel influenza A virus, or “swine flu” in North Carolina, in their latest FluView report.

Image/Chun-San via pixabay

According to the report ending March 20, the individual was infected with an influenza A(H1N1) variant (A(H1N1)v) virus in 2020. The patient is an adult > 18 years of age, was not hospitalized, and has recovered from their illness.

An investigation into the source of the infection revealed that the patient worked with and had daily contact with swine. No human-to-human transmission has been identified in association with this patient.

While this variant virus infection was not identified until 2021, it represents the first influenza A(H1N1)v virus identified from a specimen collected in the United States in 2020 (during the 2020-21 season). No influenza A(H1N1)v virus infections have been identified in specimens collected in 2021 thus far.

When an influenza virus that normally circulates in swine is detected in a person, it is called a variant influenza virus and is labeled with a ‘v’.

Influenza viruses such as H1N1(v) and other related variants are not unusual in swine and can be directly transmitted from swine to people and from people to swine.

When humans are in close proximity to live swine, such as in barns and livestock exhibits at fairs, movement of these viruses can occur back and forth between humans and animals.

The illnesses resulting from H1N1(v) infection are similar to seasonal influenza. Symptoms include fever, muscle aches, decreased energy, coughing, runny nose, and sore throat.