Five probable cases of swine flu has been identified by New Jersey health officials in people who recently traveled to Mexico and California. The department says it’s arranging for confirmatory testing at the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDCP). Results on the test are expected within two days.
Five probable cases of swine flu has been identified by New Jersey health officials
The New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services said Monday that all have mild forms of the flu and so far none has been hospitalized. The patients include residents of several counties. Four recently traveled to Mexico while the fifth had traveled to California.
Mexico is considered the epicenter of the swine flu outbreak, with 149 suspected deaths and nearly 2,000 people believed to be infected. California has several confirmed cases.
The New Jersey cases were identified through preliminary tests conducted at the New Jersey Public Health and Environmental Laboratories.
Swine flu More Condition Symptoms
What is Swine Influenza?
Swine Influenza (swine flu) is a respiratory disease of pigs caused by type A influenza virus that regularly causes outbreaks of influenza in pigs. Swine flu viruses cause high levels of illness and low death rates in pigs.
Swine influenza viruses may circulate among swine throughout the year, but most outbreaks occur during the late fall and winter months similar to outbreaks in humans. The classical swine flu virus (an influenza type A H1N1 virus) was first isolated from a pig in 1930.
How many swine flu viruses are there?
Like all influenza viruses, swine flu viruses change constantly. Pigs can be infected by avian influenza and human influenza viruses as well as swine influenza viruses. When influenza viruses from different species infect pigs, the viruses can reassort (i.e. swap genes) and new viruses that are a mix of swine, human and/or avian influenza viruses can emerge. Over the years, different variations of swine flu viruses have emerged.
At this time, there are four main influenza type A virus subtypes that have been isolated in pigs: H1N1, H1N2, H3N2, and H3N1. However, most of the recently isolated influenza viruses from pigs have been H1N1 viruses.
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