Barcelona, Spain. Spain has alerted the World Health Organisation to what it believes is a person-to-person transmission of the swine flu virus in its A(H1N1)v variant, a Catalonia health authorities spokesperson told Reuters on Friday. Catalonia’s health department later said the risk assessment for the population was “very low”.
Health assessment in Catalonia
The Catalan health department said the infected person did not exhibit flu-like respiratory symptoms. It said tests on direct contacts showed the virus had not retransmitted.
El Pais report and investigation details
An earlier report by El Pais, citing Catalan health department sources, said the patient, who has since recovered, had no contact with pigs or pig farms, leading experts to conclude it was human-to-human transmission.
Concerns about pandemic potential
The El Pais report said the suspected transmission raised concerns due to the pandemic potential of the swine flu virus if it recombines with a human flu virus. It added that this could happen if a pig is infected with both at the same time.
WHO response and prior notifications
The WHO did not immediately reply to a Reuters request for comment. In 2023, the Netherlands notified the WHO of a confirmed human infection with a swine influenza A(H1N1)v virus in an adult with no history of occupational exposure to animals.
Background on the 2009 pandemic
In 2009, a swine flu pandemic in humans infected millions of people and was caused by a virus containing genetic material from viruses circulating in pigs, birds and humans.
What steps should public health authorities take to monitor and assess potential human-to-human transmission of swine influenza variants?