The reach of the new swine influenza wave has extended to new geographic boundaries as the virus spread to West Virginia and Minnesota last week. According to the Canadian Press, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control reported that the cases involved strains of the H3N2 virus along with the H1N2. Both cases affected children under the age of five years old who have not been in contact with swine.
“It does make us take it pretty seriously,” said CDC influenza division representative Lyn Finelli, noting that the virus has now been confirmed in Maine, Pennsylvania, Iowa, West Virginia and Minnesota.
The CDC believes the viruses are being transmitted to other people at low levels, with even those who have had their seasonal flu shot at risk for infection. The virus is genetically different enough that traditional flu protection offers no advantages; however, it is believed that most people over the age of 20 have already developed some sort of immunity to the virus.
In fact, all but one of the 11 cases of swine influenza identified so far were in children under the age of 10, the Canadian Press said. The one exception was a 58-year-old person. Only three people have been hospitalized thus far, with other health problems the primary cause for complications.
The H3N2 strain of the virus was first spotted in July in people who had had contact with swine. It is a close cousin of the H1N1 virus that caused panic in 2009, sharing the M gene that makes the flu more transmissible.
