SWINE FLU:
The infected pigs in Canada are recovering
and there’s no need to cull herds world-
wide, said Peter Ben Embarek, a food safety
science with the WHO, which is based in Ge-
neva, on a conference call today.
Pigs serve as a “wonderful mixing vessel”
for bird, human and swine viruses, Cox of
the CDC said.
“If pigs are infected with this new virus,
and some of the swine influenza viruses
that are already circulating, there could
be additional reassortments of them,” she
said. “Likewise if a human were co-infected
with one of the seasonal influenza viruses,
and this new H1N1 virus, we could have a
virus reassortment which emerged that has
slightly different properties than either
of the two parental viruses.”
Reassortment “is of major concern” in the
new virus, Schuchat said. Even if symptoms
remain mild, the ease with which the ill-
ness can spread among a world population
with little natural immunity still makes it
a threat, she said.
Flu Toll
The U.S. yesterday reported 226 cases in 30
states, with one death, a 22-month-old
child who had traveled from Mexico and died
April 27 at a Houston hospital. The number
of people with flu in the U.S. is increas-
ing at a time when the typical season would
be reaching its end, Schuchat said.
Data so far suggest that the virus is
striking younger patients than is typical
for influenza, and younger patients than
usual are entering hospitals, Schuchat
said. There are “very few” patients with
swine flu over the age of 50, and the me-
dian age is 17. It’s possible that the eld-
erly have greater immunity toward the dis-
ease, Schuchat said.
“I do expect more cases, more severe cases,
and I do expect more deaths,” Schuchat
said. “We are planning to remain aggressive
with this new virus. I’m particularly con-
cerned about what will happen in the fall,”
beginning in late September, when flu sea-
son starts for the Northern Hemisphere,
Schuchat said.
“We’re not out of the woods yet,” she said.

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