The son of H1N1 spreads, with less panic

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

On Sept. 1, the home page for the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention  website said: "Since July 2012, 288 people from 10 states are reported to have been infected with an influenza A H3N2 variant virus (H3N2v) with the matrix (M) gene from the 2009 H1N1 pandemic virus. There have been 15 H3N2v-associated hospitalizations and one H3N2v-associated death."  

The announcement went on to say that "investigations  . . . indicate that the main risk factor for infection is exposure to pigs; mostly in fair settings. Found in U.S. pigs in 2010 and humans in July 2011, this virus appears to spread more easily from pigs to people than other variant viruses."

In July, the Indiana government determined that the same H3N2 virus was responsible for human and pig sickness at the annual La Porte County Fair.

According to the Herald Argus newspaper in LaPorte on July 25, four people associated with the fair came down with acute respiratory diseases, including two children. All had worked with live animals.

At that time, 17 individuals had been diagnosed nationwide. By Aug. 21, when the first fatality was announced, 225 cases had been diagnosed. In spite of that, the Georgia department of health said there was no reason to stay away from state fairs. BP