The first human infected with the new swine flu strain-influenza A(H1N2)v-in the United Kingdom. After this alarming discovery, the U.K. Health Security Agency said that they are now assessing any risk possibly posed by the virus to human health.
UKHSA officials announced the alarming discovery on Monday, Nov. 27. They said that the infected individual experienced only mild illness.
A pig sits inside it's pen at the farm on May 1, 2009 in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. The World Health Organisation has issued a phase five Swine Influenza Virus (SIV) pandemic warning following the outbreak with positive reports of the virus spreading to the United States of America, United Kingdom and Europe.
They added that the patient was able to make a full recovery without any problems. However, further investigation is needed since this is the first time a human was infected with the new swine flu variant.
First Human Infected With New Swine Flu Detected in UK
Time Magazine reported that it is not uncommon for flu viruses to infect one species to another. This means that they can also infect people.
However, health experts fear that this animal-human infection could allow the pathogen to adapt to the new host and become transmissible among humans.
In 2009, a swine flu virus even sparked a pandemic, which affected millions of people across the world. This is why UKHSA experts are now focused on analyzing the first H1N2 human infection case.
"Influenza A(H1N2)v is similar to flu viruses currently circulating in pigs in the UK. This is the first detection of this strain of flu in a human in the UK," said the British health organization via its official press release.
As of writing, the U.K. Health Security Agency said that it is working very closely with partners to identify the pathogen's characteristics when infecting humans, as well as its possible risks to human health.
UKHSA Shares Details About Infected Human
A member of the government's animal disease department works to disinfect a pig farm as a precaution in Hsichiou, Changhua county, in central Taiwan on April 27, 2009. Taiwan's Health Minister Yeh Chin-chuan said on April 27 his government had started taking preventative measures against the outbreak of swine flu in Mexico.
The U.K. Health Security Agency said that the H1N2 infection in the patient was detected as part of a routine national flu surveillance.
The infected individual was tested by their GP after developing respiratory symptoms. UKHSA used PCR (polymerase chain reaction) testing to detect the swine flue strain, as well as genome sequencing to characterize the variant.
"The individual concerned experienced a mild illness and has fully recovered. The source of their infection has not yet been ascertained and remains under investigation," said the British health agency.
UKHSA officials said that they are ensuring to reach people who made close contact with the patient. They will be necessary health tests to determine if they are also infected by H1N2.
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