Canada’s health department announced the first human case of the swine flu strain H1N2 in the country, the 27th case worldwide since 2005.
According to media reports, Alberta’s Chief Health Officer Deena Hinshaw and Chief Veterinarian Keith Lehman issued a joint statement on October 4, saying that one person has been diagnosed with the swine flu strain H1N2 in central Alberta.
The patient developed mild flu symptoms in mid-October and went to the emergency room, where he was tested for Wuhan pneumonia (a novel coronavirus disease, COVID-19) and influenza as part of routine procedures, Hinshaw said in a press release.
The joint statement noted that this case is now considered an isolated case and does not increase the local risk of infection, and emphasized that “this is the only reported case of influenza in Alberta so far this flu season.
Local health officials are working with the Alberta Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry to initiate a public health investigation to determine the source of the virus and that there has not been mass transmission. Hinshaw said provincial testing centers are now actively offering influenza testing to the public in addition to martial lung virus screening.
Theresa Tam, Canada’s chief public health officer, tweeted that H1N2 is a rare form of influenza in humans, usually contracted through contact with infected pigs and is not easily transmitted from person to person.
Recent Comments