Adding to the list of several lethal mutations of the swine flu virus, the Minnesota department of health (Mdh) in the United States recently zeroed in on a new strain variant, the H1N2V.
The new strain is markedly different from the other swine-origin strain H3N2v which caused several cases of illness so far in the United States which threatened to cross borders by air connectivity.
“The new strain is created by the genetic exchange of material between the present H1N2 and H3N2 strains. This spreads only from pigs to humans, and not from humans to pigs, or to fellow humans. There is no need to worry,” said Dr K. Subhakar, state swine flu coordinator and professor of pulmonary medicine, Government Chest Hospital.
Though medicine is catching up, there are lots of new strains that are detected because of better scientific research.
“One interesting and dangerous quality of these virus strains is that they mutate into something else every year, and hence, vaccine development also needs to catch up with the changing strains.
"Surveillance is therefore critical. We already have a good system running in the state, with cases of flu symptoms continually referred to the Institute of Preventive Medicine (IPM), which collects samples and analyses them according to instructions issued by the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).
"The healthcare department should also gear up to face any future challenges. As of now, there need not be any worry in consuming well-cooked pork products,” added Dr Subhakar.