Spain alerts WHO of swine flu virus believed to have been transmitted between people
The Straits Times
The person infected did not exhibit flu-like respiratory symptoms and has recovered. Read more at straitstimes.com.
BARCELONA – Spain has alerted the World Health Organization (WHO) of what it believes to be a person-to-person transmission of the swine flu virus in its A(H1N1)v variant, a spokesperson for health authorities in the Catalonia region confirmed to Reuters on Feb 27.
In a later statement, the Catalan health department said the risk assessment for the population was considered “very low”.
The person infected did not exhibit flu-like respiratory symptoms, it said, and tests on direct contacts showed the virus had not retransmitted.
An earlier report by newspaper El Pais citing Catalan health department sources said the patient – who has since recovered – had no contact with pigs or pig farms, leading experts to conclude it was a human-to-human transmission of the pathogen.
This set off alarm bells due to the pandemic potential of the swine flu virus if it recombines with a human flu virus, which could happen if a pig is infected with both at the same time, the El Pais report added.
The WHO did not immediately reply to a Reuters request for comment.
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