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Source: http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national...30TDY02302.htm
Study shows new H5N1 strain may mutate in pigs
The Yomiuri Shimbun
A high proportion of pigs in Indonesia carry the highly infectious H5N1 avian influenza virus--something that could mutate into a new strain inside the pigs, according to research by the Kobe University Center for Infectious Diseases.
It is feared that if the virus mutates inside pigs and becomes transmittable between humans, it could pose a far greater threat to people than the current outbreak of swine flu.
The World Health Organization is taking precautions regarding a likely scenario of a new strain that is highly contagious between people being formed in this way.
The center detected the H5N1 virus in 52 pigs--more than one in ten of the 402 pigs it examined in four Indonesian provinces. Pigs are capable of transmitting the virus to birds and people.
On further analysis of the H5N1 virus detected in the 52 pigs, the center found a strain of a type of virus that could be transmitted to humans in some cases.
"It's a surprising result," said Yoshiyuki Nagai, director of the Center of Research Network for Infectious Diseases. "Perhaps we are looking at the process by which a new strain of influenza becomes infectious. We need to be vigilant."
(Apr. 30, 2009)
Study shows new H5N1 strain may mutate in pigs
The Yomiuri Shimbun
A high proportion of pigs in Indonesia carry the highly infectious H5N1 avian influenza virus--something that could mutate into a new strain inside the pigs, according to research by the Kobe University Center for Infectious Diseases.
It is feared that if the virus mutates inside pigs and becomes transmittable between humans, it could pose a far greater threat to people than the current outbreak of swine flu.
The World Health Organization is taking precautions regarding a likely scenario of a new strain that is highly contagious between people being formed in this way.
The center detected the H5N1 virus in 52 pigs--more than one in ten of the 402 pigs it examined in four Indonesian provinces. Pigs are capable of transmitting the virus to birds and people.
On further analysis of the H5N1 virus detected in the 52 pigs, the center found a strain of a type of virus that could be transmitted to humans in some cases.
"It's a surprising result," said Yoshiyuki Nagai, director of the Center of Research Network for Infectious Diseases. "Perhaps we are looking at the process by which a new strain of influenza becomes infectious. We need to be vigilant."
(Apr. 30, 2009)
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