News & Perspective

(CIDRAP News) – The swine-origin H1N2 virus found in three Minnesotans last week carries the matrix gene from the 2009 H1N1 pandemic virus, marking the first time such a virus has been found in humans, according to state and federal health officials.

(CIDRAP News) – Three people contracted H1N2 influenza infections, a strain very rarely seen in humans, after exposure to pigs at the Minnesota State Fair in the Twin Cities, the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) announced this afternoon.

(CIDRAP News) – The type of flu transmission occurring mainly in young people directly exposed to pigs at fairs this summer is unprecedented, and health officials should consider keeping pigs away from the events, according to one infectious disease expert who has gone on record with his concerns.

Minnesota health officials today reported the state's first cases of the novel H3N2 flu mainly linked to contact with pigs at agricultural fairs. And with cases of H3N2v climbing across the nation, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently urged schools to be on the lookout for infections.