Spain alerts WHO of swine flu virus believed to have been transmitted between people

Spain informs WHO of potential human transmission of swine flu, with a low risk assessment for the population.

Spain has alerted the World Health ​Organization 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 Friday (February 27, 2026).

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.