Variant Influenza Viruses
Background On Variant Influenza Viruses
Swine flu viruses do not normally infect humans. However, sporadic human infections with influenza viruses that normally circulate in swine and not people have occurred. When this happens, these viruses are called “variant viruses.” They also can be denoted by adding the letter “v” to the end of the virus subtype designation. Human infections with H1N1v, H3N2v and H1N2v viruses have been detected in the United States.
Most commonly, human infections with variant viruses occur in people with exposure to infected pigs (e.g., children near pigs at a fair or workers in the swine industry). This is thought to happen mainly when an infected pig coughs or sneezes and droplets with influenza virus in them spread through the air. If these droplets land in your nose or mouth, or are inhaled, you can be infected. There also is some evidence that you might get infected by touching something that has virus on it and then touching your own mouth or nose. A third way to possibly get infected is to inhale particles containing influenza virus. Scientists aren’t really sure which of these ways of spread is the most common. Swine influenza has not been shown to be transmissible to people through eating properly handled and prepared pork (pig meat) or other products derived from pigs.
Variant Influenza Virus Treatment
Influenza antiviral drugs can be used to treat influenza infections, including human infections with influenza viruses that normally circulate in swine (swine influenza). There are four different antiviral drugs that are recommended for use in the United States for the treatment of influenza: oseltamivir, peramivir, zanamivir, and baloxavir.
