Monday, November 30, 2009

Indonesian case of H1N1 in pigs

We heard back in April that H5N1 was adapting to pigs in Indonesia. We know it is endemic in their poultry. From April:

H5N1 Avian Virus Adapting to Pigs, Closer to Human Variation
Apr 4, 2009
The deadly H5N1 virus, a scourge among avian species in Asia, appears to have adapted to operate in swine populations, a report in the Archives of Virology finds.
The H5N1 virus - a headline-producing species that regularly ravages avian populations throughout Asia - appears to have successfully mutated toward residence in pigs. While the pig variety may be less virulent than its avian-oriented cousins, it is acknowledged among virologists that the transference to the swine environment is a precursor to human infection.
The H5N1 viruses were isolated from pigs in Indonesia and were tested on mice. The pig-oriented variation was considerably less devastating to the exposed mice than the avian H5N1 species.
"The finding suggests that in growing in pigs, the virus may have become less harmful to mammals in general, the authors report. That sounds reassuring, but the authors say it may mean the virus is one step closer to turning into a human pandemic strain," writes Robert Roos in a report for the Center for Infectious Disease Research & Policy.

And now we have H1N1 also in pigs....

27 Nov 2009
The Indonesian Ministry of Agriculture has officially declared that on 23 November 2009 an outbreak of pandemic influenza A/H1N1 in pigs occurred.

An outbreak investigation has been conducted by the Disease Investigation Center, Region II, Bukittinggi. 180 nasal swabs and serum samples were collected in pigs in the breeder, weaner and farrow/finishing units.

33 samples were positive for influenza A and divided on 11 pool samples, which were sent to the Indonesian Research Center for Veterinary Sciences and to the Australian Animal Health Laboratory for advanced tests. 6 samples were positive for pandemic influenza A/H1N1.

1 comment:

NawtyBits said...

Oy Vey.