Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 Infection in Swine Herds, Manitoba, Canada

EID Journal Home > Volume 16, Number 4–April 2010

Volume 16, Number 4–April 2010
Dispatch
Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 Infection in Swine Herds, Manitoba, Canada
Tim Pasma and Tomy Joseph
Author affiliation: Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

Suggested citation for this article

Abstract
In Manitoba, Canada, several swine herds were infected by pandemic (H1N1) 2009 virus in the summer of 2009. Results of several investigations concluded that outbreaks of infection with this virus are similar in duration to outbreaks of infections with swine influenza viruses A (H1N1) and A (H3N2).

On April 21, 2009, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced the finding of a novel strain of influenza virus A (H1N1), now known as pandemic (H1N1) 2009 virus, in 2 children in southern California (1). By June 11, this virus had spread so quickly and extensively among humans that the World Health Organization declared a phase 6 pandemic (2). The disease in humans is a self-limiting, uncomplicated respiratory illness with fever; however, severe disease and deaths have occurred (3). Clinical signs in humans are generally mild and include fever, slight cough, sneezing, and nasal discharge. Vomiting and diarrhea also have been reported in up to 38% of cases (3).

Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 virus also has affected swine. On May 2, 2009, the virus was isolated from a swine herd in Alberta, Canada (4). The disease in swine has been reported as mild in field and experimental conditions. Clinical signs in pigs include fever, slight cough, sneezing, and nasal discharge. Diarrhea was also reported in experimentally infected pigs; however, this symptom may have been secondary to the influenza infection (5). In experimental infection of pigs, clinical signs peaked on days 4–5 postinfection (5).

In Manitoba, Canada, pandemic (H1N1) 2009 virus was first detected in a swine herd on June 30, 2009. During the following months, more outbreaks in Manitoba were reported in farrowing, nursery, and finishing herds. Our study aimed to determine the length of time that virus was shed in swine herds after a field outbreak of pandemic (H1N1) 2009.

Suggested Citation for this Article
Pasma T, Joseph T. Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 infection in swine herds, Manitoba, Canada. Emerg Infect Dis [serial on the Internet]. 2010 Apr [date cited]. http://www.cdc.gov/EID/content/16/4/706.htm

DOI: 10.3201/eid1604.091636

open here to see the full-text:
http://www.cdc.gov/eid/content/16/4/706.htm