The first infection was diagnosed with a special flu variant

A special strain of swine flu virus has been identified in Great Britain. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) announced on Monday that an infection of this H1N2 variant has not been recorded in the country before. The pathogen is therefore somewhat different from other recent human cases, but similar to viruses in British pigs.

Influenza A(H1N2)v was detected in one case as part of routine surveillance using a PCR test, the report said. The victim was tested for respiratory problems, had a mild course of the disease and is now fully recovered. The source of the infection was initially unknown.

Swine flu is the most common viral respiratory disease of pigs; The most important subtypes are H1N1, H1N2, H3N2 and H3N1. H and N represent two proteins in the viral envelope: hemagglutinin and neuraminidase. Sometimes people get infected, which is usually harmless. However, they carry the risk of the virus becoming a more dangerous pathogen that can spread from person to person.

Since 2005, 50 cases of influenza A(H1N2)v have been reported.

Health authority UKHSA said the situation was being closely monitored and surveillance measures had been tightened in parts of North Yorkshire. “We are working quickly to identify close contacts and minimize potential transmission,” UKHSA incident response officer Meera Chand said.

According to UKHSA, 50 cases of influenza A(H1N2)v in humans have been reported worldwide since 2005. However, none of them are genetically related to the variant (1b.1.1) now found in Great Britain. A variant of the H1N1 subtype has spread from Mexico to many countries since 2009. After initial great concern, it soon became clear that the diseases were on average milder than initially thought.