NewsDesk @bactiman63

In a follow-up on a report last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports two additional human infections with a novel influenza A virus in West Virginia.

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The patients were infected with an influenza A(H3N2) variant (A(H3N2)v) virus. Both patients are <18 years of age, were not hospitalized, and have recovered from their illness.

An investigation by health officials showed that both patients attended an agricultural fair and that swine at this fair tested positive for swine influenza A(H3N2). No person-to-person spread of this virus has been confirmed to date.

They are the second and third patients infected with an H3N2v virus reported from West Virginia in the past 2 weeks; all three attended the same agricultural fair prior to illness onset.

When an influenza virus that normally circulates in swine (but not people) is detected in a person, it is called a “variant influenza virus.” Most human infections with variant influenza viruses occur following close proximity to swine, but human-to-human transmission has occurred previously. It is important to note that in most cases, variant influenza viruses have not shown the ability to spread easily and sustainably from person to person.